What Could Go Wrong?
by lotusflowerlove6
Summary: Larkspur Russo's ready for her sixth year at Hogwarts. Her ex-boyfriend's getting together with her worst enemy, the Dark Lord's rising, she still hasn't told anyone that her aunt's a muggle or that she works at the Sub Station serving food to muggles, and she has to get ready for N.E.W.T.s. Yup, just a typical year at Hogwarts, what could possibly go wrong? On Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

_A/N...Okay, okay, okay :) This story has gotten me wound up, I have high hopes for it. Thank you so, so much to Ashlyn Jane Malfoy for helping me out with this. She's an awesome writer, and I look up to her as my Harry Potter fanfic role model. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Wizards of Waverly Place, or any of the places _

_Claimer: Lark is mine! Back off lawyers! _

Uncle Jerry was going on about airfare prices while Alex, Max, Justin, and I were lounging around the Sub Station. My uncle thought it was a clever idea to model his restaurant after a subway station. It was a slow day, no surprise there, and I was being shipped off to England for school. I'm an interesting one. My mom's a former wizard from the U.S., and my father's a Death Eater currently locked up in Azkaban. Neither of them thought about what would happen to me once my magic started to come in.

Let me start from the beginning. Hi, I'm Larkspur Ellis Russo. Yes, my name is Larkspur; no, it's not funny. Everyone just calls me Lark. My mother's name is Chelsea Russo, and my father's name is Caelum Grayfire. My mother lost the wizarding competition in her branch of the Russo family and immediately traveled to England in order to have a fresh start at a performing arts college as a muggle. My father, Caelum, comes from a long line of pure-blood witches and wizards. This pretty much makes me a pure-blood, despite the fact that Mom lost her powers. Well, Mom and Dad met, really hit it off, and we all know how that ends. I was born in England, during the reign of the Dark Lord, but mostly grew up in America. I've tried living with my grandparents, but that was a total fail. There've been some arguments about where I should learn magic. WizTech in America, or Hogwarts in England. I grew up the same way as most American wizard kids, homeschooled in magic, but that changed once I turned twelve. Yes, twelve, my damn letter came in late. I was sorted into Slytherin, just like all the other Grayfires before me, but, sometimes, I wish that letter never came.

"I'm so jealous," my older cousin Justin grumbled enviously while cleaning tables.

I looked over at Alex, who was going through a magazine in booth 5, and we both rolled our eyes. "Why can't you try being happy for our favorite cousin? Like I am," Alex asked and walked over to hug me. I absolutely love Alex; she's sneaky, conniving, and absolutely manipulatory. This is why she's my favorite cousin out of the three.

I hugged her back, "Seriously, Justin, if you wanted to go so badly, you should've just applied." Hogwarts _does_ take applications; you don't have to be enrolled since birth.

"Who? Me? What?" Justin snorted as if that's the last thing he wanted, "No, I have to be loyal to WizTech. Even though I heard Hogwarts has moving staircases, and talking paintings, and…" we all left my cousin to his mumbling.

"Do you have everything?" Aunt Theresa asked me.

"Yup," I nodded and for Uncle Jerry's sake, added, "half off."

"That's our girl," Uncle Jerry said proudly.

"Aww, I'm gonna miss you so much!" Alex said sullenly. Why do I get the feeling that she's not done yet? My cousin perked up, "You should smuggle me in. It can't be that hard, maybe a shrinking spell…"

I laughed, "Alex, I would if I could, but security at Hogwarts is tighter than skinny jeans on Mr. Laritate." Alex, Max, and Justin all shuddered at the thought. I'm pretty sure that all the trunks go through some kind of security, and a miniaturizing spell wouldn't stand a chance against my professors.

"She'll visit us for the holidays," Aunt Theresa stated. "Why don't you bring your magic friends?" I almost scoffed out loud. Bring my Slytherin friends to my muggle household in America where I live with a blood-traitor and muggle? No, thanks. I'd be branded as the worst Slytherin in the world. Because, let's face it, I live with magical beings who serve food to muggles for a living. _That's_ not exactly something I'm proud of.

"I don't think their parents would like that," I replied honestly. I'm the only American student in Hogwarts, and I'm pretty sure that my friends wouldn't be allowed out of Europe. Nor would they be allowed in a house with muggles.

"You're going to be fine, right? We agreed that you're going to stay out of trouble," Uncle Jerry asked for the nth time this week. "Do your homework. Follow the rules."

"Dad, it's Lark," Max said while playing with the condiments, "that's a yes, and no."

"In that order," Justin added. The two boys high-fived and I grinned. They were absolutely right. I would keep up with my studies, but some rules are meant to be broken.

"Hey, shut up, guys," I pretended to be offended. I follow the rules…just, not _all_ of them. Hey, if you wanna have some fun, you gotta break a couple rules.

#*#*#*

As usual I was sent to stay with my grandparents on their estate a couple days before the Hogwarts Express takes off, and I hated every minute of it. There were house elves scuttling all over the place, and they were always messing with my stuff. I managed to hide my muggle stuff from them, but it was _hard._ They were always getting their grimy little fingers everywhere. It was a strange relief when they brought me to King's Cross Station. Wait, no, not a _strange _relief. I always hate staying there. Grandmother would always find some opportunity to insult my upbringing. She's lucky my uncle raised me to respect my elders, or else I'd be using some very colorful New York language. Let's see how she likes _that_.

"Remember your manners," Grandmother said with a scrunched up looking face as we weaved through the crowds on platform nine and three quarters. "You are a Grayfire, despite being raised by that blood-traitor uncle of yours and his muggle." I fought the snappy retort that had jumped into my head. My grandparents had a habit of insulting my uncle and aunt for their blood. I understand the importance of blood, but it didn't matter _that _much to me. Up until the time I turned twelve, all of my best friends had been muggles. Although, I do have a strong aversion to mudbloods. Disgraceful to our kind… so called witches and wizards born to muggles with pretty much _no_ magic in their blood? As if. Squibs are just as bad.

"Yes, Grandmother," I replied indifferently. Same routine every year for the last five years. I started to haul my trunk towards the door, but she caught my arm.

"Be wary of who you befriend," the old woman warned, "I don't want you around the likes of Harry Potter and his mudblood." Wow, the entire wizarding world is in danger and she doesn't want me to hang out with Harry and Granger. No trouble there.

"Yes, Grandmother," I repeated, not really caring.

"Keep your grades up," Grandmother continued, "it's a shame that there's a mudblood with higher scores than you." My grades are just fine! I passed my O.W.L.s, despite being a complete wreck, which she should just be happy about.

_I already knew that,_ I wanted to hiss. "I will, Grandmother," I said through gritted teeth.

"Try not to embarrass us," she said and turned away. During Grandmother's outburst, my cat had disappeared. I cursed under my breath and started running, shouting her name. I swear, if I miss the train because of that damn cat…

I found her harassing a first year. Although I found it amusing, I had to grab my cat and run. Literally. I scooped her up and made a break for it. I managed to get into the train after all the other students had gotten on. Awesome. All the good compartments were probably all taken. Damn cat. I shoved my way through the crowded hallways. A train could only fit so many people! I opened door after door, always finding that the compartment had been completely filled up.

"Lark!" a familiar voice screeched. I spun around and saw my best friend, April Oldwood, pushing people out of her way to get to me. April's a pretty petite girl with large blue eyes and golden hair. Like me, she's Slytherin.

"Hey," I greeted with a small wave, "dude, there aren't any vacant compartments!" Most of the students had gotten used to my American, muggle, slang, but they didn't understand it. I'm pretty sure that everyone just ignores it when I start talking like a muggle, but I pass it off as everyday American mannerism.

"There's got to be one around here somewhere," April assured me. "How was your summer?" April and I had met in the Slytherin common room my first day at Hogwarts. I was completely lost and confused, and she helped me adjust to my new surroundings. We've been best friends ever since. The two of us have pulled some of the best pranks the school's ever seen. Of course, it would be much better if I could pull some muggle pranks, but that would give me away.

"Boring," I replied, "I had to help out at the restaurant all summer! How about you? Everything go smoothly?"

She snorted, "My hag of a stepmother refuses to let me have any sort of fun. She says that riding a broom is unladylike. Damn her, I've been on the Quidditch team for years!"

"Best Chaser we've ever had," I added supportively. Some of April's other friends called her name, and since I didn't want to keep her waiting I made an excuse, "I'm gonna try to find a decent compartment. I'll catch up with you later." My friend waved her farewell and took off. I sighed and pushed walked past more compartments. I opened the door to another one, and my heart stopped.

Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, Crabbe, Goyle, and…Draco. Our eyes locked for a second. Gray jewels and brown pools. I don't know what my face looked like, but it must've been truly pathetic judging by the smug look on Pansy's face. Draco was lying across a whole row of seats with his head…in Pansy's lap, and she was stroking his hair back. He shot up immediately. "Sorry, didn't realize that this one's filled," I managed to say neutrally. I slammed the door shut and kept going. That bastard. So that's what he's been doing. Not that I care. I. Totally. Don't. Care.

I gave up looking for a compartment and just settled in the Slytherin carriage of the train. It pretty much had two rows of booths and tables along both sides. I needed music…blasting loud music in my ears always helped me to cope. My mp3 player was shoved in my jacket pocket, and it had headphones in the draw strings. I love muggle technology. I turned it on, playing a punk song as loud as I could without anyone noticing.

The music helped to dull the ache I felt, but that didn't stop me from thinking. Draco and Pansy. I hate to admit, but I can see it happening. That skank's had her eyes on Draco since third year. I just never knew that the feelings were mutual. Whatever. He can do whatever he wants and date whoever he wants.

I hadn't even been interested in Draco at all my first year at Hogwarts. In fact, I thought he was like any other spoiled rich kid, which he is, but that changed towards the end of the year. Don't even ask me how it happened, but I started to like him. We got together in the middle of third year, had a brief break up in fourth year, and got back together after the Yule Ball. He dumped me in the middle of last year right before O.W.L.s. I've barely spoken to him since.

After a month of sulking at home, Alex confronted me about it, and she told me to get off my ass and get him back. I wasn't going to go begging him to take me back; I may be soft for a Slytherin, but I still have my pride. Damaged it may be, but still. And as Grandmother always says, a Grayfire must portray an air of superiority. Begging doesn't fall under the category of superiority, unless it's people begging us.

I took my ear buds out and turned off my mp3, fearing that someone would notice the music if the ear buds came out when I fell asleep. And I was about to fall asleep, like every year. Although, this time I felt like crap. Thanks a lot, Draco.

"Are you okay?" April had taken the booth across from me, and I hadn't noticed it with my face buried in my arms. I was too preoccupied wallowing in my misery. Wow, talk about an all time low.

"Yeah, totally," I lied and forced a smile. April didn't buy it. She scowled and crossed her arms.

"I saw what happened, Lark," April said seriously.

"You saw me barge in on my ex with his new girlfriend?" I said dryly.

"Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise were in there too," my friend pointed out. True, but that doesn't make it any better. I guess that the fact that the others were in there makes it less…intimate. Oh, Merlin, Draco and Pansy intimate…someone shoot me now.

"Hey, if you want to get back at him, I'll be right there alongside you in detention," and this is why April is my best friend. Without Alex there, who else is going to get in trouble with me? "You know, we still have that Frog Spawn Soap from third year." Ah, I remembered that prank. We had replaced all the soap in the girls' bathroom with the Zonko's product. Those little first years ran around screaming bloody murder. Good times, good times.

As tempting as that offer was, I don't want the both of us to get detention on the first day. I'll just have to wait until he does something else to piss me off…and I get the feeling that he's going to do that sooner or later. "No," I declined with a smile, "April, you are not getting detention the first week of school over my ex."

My friend grinned slyly, "I'll just have to find another reason then, won't I?"

I giggled, "Whatever, just don't drag me down with you. My aunt and uncle are already freaked out with You-Know-Who coming back. They barely let me come back this year."

"Really?" April asked in surprised, "My stepmum and dad aren't even thinking twice about it. I read that Draco's father got put in Azkaban."

I nodded; we had seen that, too, on the news. His return even had the wizards of the U.S. freaking out. Professor Crumbs doesn't want us to get involved with the U.K.'s problem. Yeah, there may be an alliance with the two countries, but wizarding matters are completely different. "It must be awful for Draco right now, him and his mother," I commented. Guy might be a jerk, but I know what it's like to have my father in Azkaban.

"Obviously not awful enough," April said coldly.

"April! The boy's father is in frickin' Azkaban Prison, it doesn't get any worse than that." Well…it could, but then you'd basically be Potter or Longbottom. April snorted derisively, and I sighed in return. Both April's father and stepmother worked for the Ministry, and she had grown up with many privileges. In order to get attention from her father, April would cause the most trouble she could.

"Well, whatever. If things are so bad, he should be crawling back to you on his hands and knees," April pointed out. Draco and I used to be close. As in, we used to tell each other everything, but that's gone down the toilet along with all the other aspects of our relationship.

Not that the picture she put in my head wasn't absolutely entertaining, which it was, I couldn't help but feel even worse. "He has Parkinson for that now," I retorted darkly.

April scoffed, "That cow? He's delusional if he can't see how lucky he was to have you. You are ten times the witch that she is."

I laughed, "Would you like to tell Draco that?" I was only joking, but I know she would've done it in a heartbeat.

"Want me to? I will. Hell, I'll say it straight to his face right now!" April was way too enthusiastic for my liking.

"Please don't," I said with a tired smile.

"If you say so," April said in a tone that didn't really compel me to believe her. She then went on to give me a very detailed description of her vacation in Italy. I'm totally one for getting to know my heritage, but I was starting to get very, very tired. The ride hadn't even been going on for _that _long…maybe it's just trains in general. When you start working at a subway themed restaurant you eventually learn to associate naptime with trains. "Okay, I'm obviously not keeping your interest," my best friend said amusedly, "Go to sleep. I'm going to spy on Malfoy."

"Wait, April!" I squeaked, but she was already up and waving at me. I groaned and banged my forehead on the table a few times. Since my naps usually take forever, at home I take the second longest naps behind Alex by only an hour; I got up and decided to change into my robes now.

One of my uniforms consists of a white button down shirt, a green and silver striped tie, charcoal gray trousers, and a black robe with green lining and Slytherin's emblem on the left. I didn't bother hiding my muggle tech in my suitcase…I shoved my cell phone and mp3 into my pocket. When I got back to my table, I stared out the window like a loser for a few minutes and thought about just how interesting this year might turn out to be. Then I folded my arms and rested them on the table, using them as a pillow. Hey, the Dark Lord may be back from the dead, but that doesn't mean my annual routine has to get screwed up.

I was woken up by the conductor who was making sure that none of the students were lagging behind. I instantly got up and looked around for my stupid cat that had disappeared as soon as I boarded the train. She was curled up on the table, napping peacefully. I rolled my eyes and picked her up. I overslept; all the kids were pretty much gone. I saw Draco walking out of his compartment, alone. _Hmmm, I wonder where Pansy went, _I thought to myself. He looked up and saw me watching him. I walked faster and ignored him when he called my name.

"Lark," Draco said urgently.

"Don't talk to me, Malfoy," I hissed and walked onto the platform. Actually, it was more like storming onto the platform.

"You can't seriously be mad at me," Draco said in disbelief as I climbed onto a carriage…that was drawn by itself. Uh, he dumped me before the freakin' O.W.L.s and is currently with my worst enemy. _No, not mad at_ all_, Malfoy._

I crossed my arms as he got into the carriage across from me, "I'm so _not _mad. Why would I be?" _'Cause it's not like I still have feelings for you,_ I added silently with sarcasm. I have this tiny habit of thinking sarcastically to myself in order to keep sane. Confusion flickered across Draco's sharp features for a second before being replaced with an arrogant expression. "How was your summer?" I asked in order to show an undeterred appearance. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong question to ask.

A shadow crossed his face, and, against my better judgment, I grew concerned. I'm not heartless, so sue me. "It was…decent," Draco replied oh-so-believably.

"_Draco_," I said, placing emphasis on his name. I was pissed at him for everything he had done to our relationship, but I still care about him. He was lying to me. There's absolutely no way that Draco Malfoy can lie to me without me knowing it.

"It's nothing," Draco assured me and waved it off.

"If you say so," I relented disapprovingly. He should know better than to keep things from me. I wanted to ask him about how he was holding up, but that wouldn't be the best subject to bring up. Well, without much to talk about, I decided to stop thinking about it and just enjoy the ride to the castle. "So…" I drawled casually, "you and Pansy, huh?" _DAMMIT! Why did I say that? Stupid. Stupid. _Stupid.

His mouth curled into his usual infuriatingly smug smirk, "Not jealous now, are we?" _Yes…_

I barked a laugh, "No, I'm not jealous. A little sickened, yeah, but not jealous."

He arched an eyebrow questioningly. Guess he didn't buy it. I hated that knowing look in his eyes and smug curl to his lip. I hated how well he knew me and could see right through me. "If you say so," Draco replied, throwing my earlier comment back at me.

I scowled, "Why don't we just agree not to speak until we get to the castle? It's not like we're enjoying each other's company or anything."

"Agreed," Draco said. I tried not to look at him, but my eyes didn't seem to get the message. I would look out the carriage, and my gaze would stray to Draco and find him watching me closely. My eyes locked on his, and my expression hardened.

"What're you looking at, Malfoy?" I snapped impatiently. I was a little bit uncomfortable with him staring at me, but it was also bugging the hell out of me.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing," he replied flippantly. I let it go and looked away angrily. Insufferable, irritating, extremely good-looking, selfish, arrogant little…gah! I need to punch a wall or something. Well…maybe not Hogwarts' stone walls.

The carriage didn't take us all the way to the castle doors as usual. This time, it stopped right at the gates. Another thing that was new is that the grounds were crawling with people. I glanced at Draco, and he just shrugged in reply. We got off the carriage and looked around; Opal had leapt off the carriage and stood next to me. Professor Flitwick – an incredibly short man with a hilarious hair cut, mustache, glasses, and black suit – hobbled over to us.

"Names?"

Hmm, this is new. There were several ways I could go with this; I could be good and state my name, ask questions, or have some fun. I swept a low bow, "Larkspur Russo, at your service." Draco snickered behind me.

Professor Flitwick _hmmph_ed, "Same as ever, I see, Russo."

I shrugged with a grin, "I try."

"And you, Malfoy?" the half-breed turned to Draco. I almost burst out laughing at how annoyed Draco looked with the teacher. Oh, a picture perfect moment. Where's my digital camera when I need it? Oh, yeah, in my room…in New York…in America…on the other side of the planet.

"Draco Malfoy," Draco said through gritted teeth. I choked on my laughter but covered it with a cough. I'm gonna die from laughter.

Professor Flitwick scrawled on the parchment he was holding, "Security is over there, hurry up, you're going to be left behind."

"Yes, sir," I said and nodded my understanding. I absolutely love Professor Flitwick. He's probably the coolest teacher the whole castle has. Well, there was Lupin in third year, but he resigned. All the other teachers need to chill out and loosen up. Especially McGonagall, she's so stiff. What that woman needs is a good day at the spa…and a face lift. Turns out that security was really just Mr. Filch with a Secrecy Sensor. Shoot. _Okay, calm down. It's not a metal detector. I'm not hiding anything anyway. At least not a dark object, _I told myself. My little pep talk helped out a little bit, but…just to be safe. "Good evening, Mr. Filch," I greeted the Squib cheerfully, "hard at work as usual. That's a very admirable trait, sir."

"Good evening, Miss Russo," Filch replied. The castle's caretaker, Argus Filch, ladies and gentlemen. The man's hunched over, has a horrid face, thin, graying brown hair, and shuffles when he walks. He's one of those sad old men who have cats because they're lonely. He has it in his head that he's better than the rest of us; funny seeing how he's a Squib.

"Are you in charge of security now, Mr. Filch?" I asked with false interest as he readied the Secrecy Sensor. The man grunted which I took as a yes. "That's a lot of responsibility. I can see why Professor Dumbledore's entrusted the safety of the school to you. That's sooo impressive." If there's anything I learned from growing up in the Sub Station, it's that a little kissing up isn't always a bad thing. I tried not to stiffen as the Secrecy Sensor passed my pockets. I almost collapsed in relief when it didn't hum. I stifled a derisive snort when he ran the Sensor over my cat, who hissed and swatted at it in return. Go, Opal!

"Go on, then," Mr. Filch said with a wave of the Secrecy Sensor. I should've gone ahead, but I decided to wait for Draco. There's no reason why I have to walk in by myself. Filch took Draco's briefcase from him.

"Be careful with that," Draco snapped as Filch threw it on a small table in front of him. The Squib went through the contents of the briefcase, and Draco wore a disgusted expression on his face.

"What's this cane 'ere, then?" Filch asked and took a medium length cane out of the briefcase.

"It's not a cane, you fool, it's a stick," Draco angrily informed the man. I tuned out their conversation and watched the robed figures walking around. I watched as the iron gates closed by themselves and Flitwick put up a protective barrier.

"….it could make for a fancy weapon," Filch was saying. I was surprised when I noticed Professor Snape. Creepy man. He always wore flowing black robes, his black hair fell to his shoulders, and he had a hooked nose. I've always seen him as the kind of man who deserves respect, which I've always shown him…mostly.

"It's alright, Mr. Filch," Professor Snape said, "I can vouch for Mr. Malfoy." I smirked when Draco pulled the cane away from Filch. Professor Snape was looking straight ahead at something, or, rather, someone. Draco, Filch, and I all looked in the same direction. Harry Potter and Loony Lovegood. The boy, Potter, had dark hair and wore circle shaped glasses, jeans, a light blue T-shirt, and gray jacket. Loony Lovegood, a complete and total _freak_ even by my standards, had her long wavy blond hair pulled into a ponytail over her shoulder. She and Harper both have a habit of having…eccentric taste in fashion.

"Nice face, Potter," Draco sneered. Potter's face, which usually isn't bad looking, had blood coming out of his nose which had stained the front of his shirt. I shot a questioning look at Draco, but he brushed it off. Potter's mouth turned up in a less than friendly half-smile of acknowledgement. Draco took off towards the school. Professor Snape and I followed after him. We walked to the castle in silence.

Hogwarts is a huge seven-story castle with many towers; it's absolutely beautiful, especially with the scenery. If I had a camera with me, I would snap a picture for Alex. I walked into the Entrance Hall alone, Draco and I had parted ways so he could go put on his own robes, which pretty much gives access to the rest of the school. Namely, the Grand Staircase, Hufflepuff common room, kitchens, dungeons, and Great Hall. I went past the marble staircase and through the double doors leading to the Great Hall.

Out of the entire school, the Great Hall is my favorite room. For reasons other than the fact that it's where we get food. The entire room is a work of magical art. The ceiling is high and enchanted so that it looks like the outdoor sky; tonight, it was cloudy. There are candles suspended in the air overhead. The students are sorted to four tables by house. Although, some students do move from table to table occasionally. There's always the same amount of students every year, unless someone decides not to attend.

"There you are!" April said as I took my place next to her at the table. The feast had almost begun. I felt relieved; I had made it just barely. The sorting always takes _forever, _and I usually end up sleeping through it. Don't judge, I like to sleep, a lot of people do. For some reason, I paid mild attention to the sorting hat when it was going on about keeping strong in these tough times. I scoffed. Leave it to a hat to tell us to beware the Dark Lord. "That stupid hat should learn to keep its mouth shut," April whispered fiercely to me. "All this talk is wasting precious time."

"Tell me about it," I agreed with an eye roll. As soon as the sorting finished, we started to eat. I kept glancing at Draco, and I noticed that something about him seemed…off. He was unusually quiet with a dark expression on his face. I couldn't help but feel a little smug that he wasn't paying much attention to Pansy drone on either.

"Very best of evenings to you all," Professor Dumbledore said from the podium. The owl in front of the podium spread its wings as he stepped up. The entire Hall quieted as the headmaster spoke. Hmm…I'd like to see Crumbs do that. "First off, let me introduce the newest member of our staff, Horace Slughorn." Dumbledore motioned to his left. A man, way past his prime, sitting next to Professor Snape rose to his feet. He wore a suit that instantly made me think of Sherlock Holmes and a cap…as in a graduation cap complete with tassel. He seemed slightly oversized…I could easily picture Uncle Jerry looking like that when he hits eighty. "Professor Slughorn, I'm pleased to say, has agreed to assume his old post as Potions master. Meanwhile, the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts, will be taken by Professor Snape." There was a collective murmuring, and not-so-murmuring, among the students. I clapped alongside the rest of my House. Actually, I kinda wanted to get up and fist pump in honor of the head of house…but there were _some _Russo family mannerisms Hogwarts just isn't ready for. I spared a glance at Draco, and I was surprised to see his elbow propped up on table and a far-off expression on his face. Draco _adored _Snape; shouldn't he be one of the most proud here? "As you know, each and every one of you was searched upon your arrival here tonight, and you have the right to know why." Hmm…this got my attention. I was now watching the elderly headmaster with renewed interest. "Once, there was a young man, like you, who sat in this very Hall, walked this castle's corridors, slept under its roof. Seemed to all the world, a student like any other. His name? Tom Riddle." There was murmuring among the students again. I raised an eyebrow at April, and she returned my look with one of equal confusion. "Today, of course, he is known all over the world by another name. Which is why, as I stand looking out upon you all tonight, I'm reminded of a sobering thing. Every day, every hour, this very minute, perhaps, dark forces attempt to penetrate this castle's walls, in the end….they're greatest weapon, is you. Here's something to think about. Now off to bed! Pip, pip."

I didn't know whether I should be laughing hysterically at the fact that my headmaster just said pip, pip, or get on the first plane _outta here. _"Well…that was…" April trailed off.

"Creepy? Weird? Blood-curdling?" I suggested and got off the bench, casting a look over at Draco. He didn't look all that thrilled to be here.

April noticed me watching him, "What's with Malfoy? He looks like a hippogriff ate his owl or something."

"Not how I would word it, but my thoughts exactly," I replied. A part of me wanted to go talk to him, but the rest of me would rather go down to the common room with April.

"Come on," April rolled her eyes at me and half-dragged me with her down to the dungeons where our dorm was located. "Think that Dumbledore's speech had to do with _him_?" April asked as we made our way through schoolmates.

I laughed at my friend's Hufflepuff-like intellect, "April, hon, that's _all_ the speech had to do with."

"Oh, shut up," April snapped crossly.

"Sorry, sorry," I said with a grin. My friend smacked my arm, but it didn't really hurt. There was a crowd of kids standing in front of the wall in front of the Slytherin common room. I pushed my way through the crowd and spoke clearly to the door, "Flawless." The wall opened for us, and we all walked into the common room as a black wave.

The common room is my second favorite place to hang out other than the Great Hall. True to our House colors, the common room follows a green color scheme; greenish lamps, green leather sofas. The other furniture consists of dark wood furnishings, low-backed black leather couches, and skulls. If I had my own room in the loft, I'd decorate it just like the common room. I threw myself onto one of the couches with a sigh. _Home sweet home,_ I thought contentedly.

April made me go up with her to the girls' dormitory. Everyone has a four-poster bed with green silk drapes. Since our dorm is located _under the lake_, I've fallen to sleep listening to waves lapping at the windows. I took my usual bed and glared at a first year who had tried to claim it. The kid backed off, and Opal, who had disappeared earlier, jumped onto the bed and curled up on the green comforter.

"Ready for a new year?" I asked April as I made myself comfortable on the bed with a leather-bound notebook in hand.

April scoffed, "Of course. N.E.W.T.s, homework, and detention, what could be better?"

"Sleeping in detention?" I asked jokingly. Before I started at Hogwarts, I was a known prankster at Tribeca Prep Middle School. I often fell asleep during detention with Alex. Detentions at Hogwarts were living hell.

"I suppose that would be a step up from sorting ingredients for Professor Snape," April commented, referring to one detention in fourth year. I hummed to myself as I started to write in my notebook. "I'm looking forward to all the free time we have this year!" she added.

"What're you writing, Russo?" Pansy asked and swung on one of the posts of my bed. I narrowed my eyes at the pug-faced witch. She was so frickin' irritating!

"Didn't your parents ever teach you to mind your own business?" I demanded coolly and stopped my writing. I was writing a musical arrangement for a couple songs Alex and I put together. We were going to start performing at the Sub Station on Friday nights to bring in customers. Alex could rock the drums, Justin was epic on guitar, and I kick butt on the keyboard.

"Is it a love note?" Pansy pressed, "Oh, Russo, I didn't know you had a boyfriend."

"Back off, Parkinson," April growled at the brunette.

"I don't recall speaking to you," Pansy snapped at my friend. She turned her attention back to me, "So, Russo, who is it?"

I closed my notebook and gave Pansy a smile so sweet it made dentists cry, "Pansy, _sweetie,_ if I wanted you to know, I would tell you. Now, do us all a favor and piss off." There was pure outrage on her round face, accomplishment of my day, as she turned away and left me and April in peace.

April howled with laughter, "That. Was. Bloody. Brilliant!" I have to admit, it definitely was. After that, I got ready for bed and fell asleep under the cool sheets with Opal lying next to me.

Then next day, April had to push me out of my bed to wake me up. Opal went crashing down with me, and she was not happy about it at all. I walked to the bathroom, convincing my way through the line. I took a shower, changed into a clean uniform, and dried my hair with an American spell. Spells come in many varieties depending on where they're learned from.

The wizarding world is divided into two parts Eastern and Western. The Eastern half consists of all the countries and continents east of the Americas. The Western are the Americas. When the world of magic was split up, when the muggle colonies were established, culture and tradition changed drastically in the west. Spells became improvised, wizards started to integrate themselves with muggles on a daily basis, and, most importantly, the family wizarding competition became a central part of life.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I have fair skin, wavy light brown hair, falling slightly past my shoulders, and brown eyes like every other Russo in my family. I didn't bother with makeup. I walked out of the bathroom and tossed my pajamas onto the bed. My stomach growled, demanding food. I met up with April at breakfast. There was a stack of pancakes, a pile of bacon, and a large plate with sausage. My goblet filled with orange juice, and I put a healthy portion of pancakes and sausage on my plate. And by healthy, I mean large.

"How can you eat all that?" April gaped.

"What? I'm hungry," I said defensively. I'm not fat or anything. I just like to eat… a lot. I scarfed it all down while April took dainty bites of her pancakes. Even though I started after her, I finished first. "Come on, speed it up," I made hurry it up motions with my hand.

"We can't all be speed eaters," April informed me.

"If we're late, it's your fault," I told her pointedly. I do not want to be late for my first class of the year.

"Hey, I tried to wake _you_ up on time. You're the one who refused to get up until eight o'clock," she reminded me.

I laughed at the teasing note in her voice, "Fair enough." When she finally finished her breakfast, we practically had to run through the halls in order to get to Potions class on time.

_A/N...Review? :)))) If you do...I will love you until Death Eaters break down my door_


	2. Chapter 2

"Paying attention to details is the prerequisite to all planning," Professor Slughorn was saying when Potter and Weasley walked in…late. No fair. So the Boy Who Lived gets to come in late, but I can't sleep in? That's sooo unfair. Potions didn't seem like it was going to be all that great this year. First of all, I was put in the class with Draco just like I was every year. Secondly, I had to put up with that mudblood Granger. At least she's finally gotten that rat's nest hair of hers under control. "Ah, Harry, m'boy, I was beginning to worry," Professor Slughorn said without so much as an _ounce_ of anger at the disruption, "brought someone with us, I see."

Weasley stood up a little straighter and spoke his name proudly, "Ron Weasley, sir…"

"Check out Lavender Brown," April whispered to me. The Gryffindor girl looked as if she was about to faint.

I snickered, "Bet you five sickles she's crushing on Weasley."

"That's a sucker's bet," my friend whispered back. Granger shot us a dirty look, telling us to be quiet. I glared at her back, and the mudblood turned back around. Oh! Take that!

"Nonsense, we'll sort you out. Any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine. Come on, get your books out," Slughorn turned back to the layout of potions in front of him.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I haven't actually got my book yet, and nor has Ron," Potter told our teacher.

"Not to worry, get what you want from the cupboard," Slughorn dismissed the lack of preparation.

"You look like you swallowed a vomit flavored Every Flavor Bean," Draco whispered from next to me.

At his comment I relaxed the muscles in my face. Potter always got special treatment from most to all of the teachers. Just like Justin, but at least my cousin had to _earn_ his place. "As I was saying, I prepared some concoctions for this morning," Professor Slughorn made his way around the table, "any ideas what these might be?" He looked over the crowd. My hand was slowly going up, but Granger's shot up like a rocket on the Fourth of July. "Yes, miss…?"

"Granger, sir," the girl supplied. "That one there is verus serum; it's a truth telling serum." I rolled my eyes. Big whoop._ Everybody _knows that. She moved onto the next potion. I turned my focus on where the two Gryffindor boys were taking their sweet time getting their books. The two of them lunged for something in the cupboard, and Weasley came out victorious. I bit the inside of my cheek so that I wouldn't laugh. "It's terribly tricky to make and almost just as tempting," Granger was saying, "the most powerful love potion in the world." Oh, love potions. Haha, I put those to good use with Justin a few years back. There was this one girl who he _hated_… I slipped her a love potion, and she was glued to his side for weeks. Alex, Max, and I all thought it was hilarious. "It's rumored to smell differently to each person according to what attracts them." I snuck a look at Draco. He seemed absolutely bored to death. Can't blame him. Listening to Granger drone on and on was making me crave a nap. "For example, I smell freshly mown grass, and new parchment, and spearmint toothpaste," Granger continued in a sort of trance. _TMI! _I thought to myself. I do _not_ need to know what kind of aromas turn Granger on. No, just…no. Pansy and April snickered as the girl stepped back.

"Now Amortentia doesn't create actual love that would be impossible. But it does cause powerful infatuation or obsession, and for that reason, it is probably the most dangerous potion in this room," Slughorn informed. All the girls, including April, were advancing towards the potion. I couldn't help but look at Draco. He caught me looking and smirked. I didn't look away after that. I glared at him, and I think he got the message.

"Who are you trying to infatuate?" I giggled and asked April.

"Oh, nobody," she said with a mischievous gleam in her eye. I'd get her to tell me all about it later. I'm told that I can be very persuasive when I want to be.

"Sir, you haven't told us what's in that one," one of the Gryffindor girls pointed out. The potion she was talking about was a clear liquid in a tiny vial, maybe four or five ounces.

"Ah, yes. What you see before you, ladies and gentlemen, is a precarious little potion, known as Felix Felicis," Slughorn unscrewed the vial from its clasp and turned to hold it up, "but it is more commonly referred to as…"

"Liquid luck," hasn't anyone told Granger that it's rude to interrupt when a teacher's speaking?

Slughorn didn't seem troubled by this at all, "Yes, Miss Granger, and liquid luck. Desperately tricky to make, disastrous should you get it wrong. One sip and you will find that all of your endeavors succeed, at least until the effects wear off." Draco's head rose as he heard this. Interesting. I wonder what endeavors Draco-boy's got on his plate. "So, this is what I offer each of you today. One tiny vial of liquid luck to the student who, in the hour that remains, manages to brew an acceptable Draught of Living Death. The recipes for which can be found on page 10 of your books. I should point out, however, that only once did a student manage to brew a potion of sufficient quality to claim this prize. Nevertheless, good luck to you all. Let the brewing commence." All the students, and I mean _all_ the students, flipped through the pages. I could use some liquid luck...if nothing else for the fun of it. With N.E.W.T.s coming up and my less than satisfactory studying habits. We all took to our cauldrons.

"Dammit," I grumbled to myself as my sopophorours bean kept skittering around. "Anyone have a mallet?"

"If I had a mallet don't you think Pissy Parkinson and Mudblood Granger would have their faces crushed in?" April replied as she angrily tried stabbing the bean.

"Good point," I nodded once. Hey, I'd probably do the same thing. I turned Pansy into a goat last year with absolutely no intention of turning her back; anyone think I'm above bashing her face in with a hammer?

"Looks like Finnigan's keeping up tradition," April snickered as, once again, Seamus managed to get something to blow up in his face. And when I say blow up, I mean full on _blow up._

I rolled my eyes, "You'd think that he would just give it up altogether after singing his face how many times now?"

"I lost count during third year Charms," April shrugged.

I continued my attempts to cut up the bean, and it did not go very well. Eventually, I just gave up and almost threw the stupid thing at the wall. I'm not as lazy as Alex, Merlin's beard that's impossible, but I can only put an effort in for so long.

"Giving up already, Russo?" Pansy sneered.

I shrugged and said in a solemn voice, "If the bean doesn't _want_ to be cut up, the bean will not be cut up. The beans are our friends. We must respect the beans." I then nuzzled the bean, and April giggled like crazy.

"You're as mad as Loony Lovegood," Pansy said.

"I'd put on a straight-jacket if it meant a week away from you, hon," I sneered. Pansy went back to her potion making, and April's laughter subsided. Just because Parkinson made a comment, I went back to work.

"Honestly, Lark, you need to work on your socializing skills," April said and tried, once again, to cut up the bean.

"Hey, hey, my socializing skills are just fine, thank you very much," I said with a snap of my fingers.

"Oh, really? Then go s_ocialize_ with Malfoy." Oh, I see how it is. My best friend's either trying to piss me off with the notion of speaking to that jerkass, or she's trying to play matchmaker. If there's one thing I can't refuse, it's a dare. This qualifies as a dare, and, hey, it's not like I have anything better to do. I looked at Draco. He was working on the brew with his undivided attention. I was honestly so surprised that my eyes almost popped out of my head. I've never seen Draco work so hard in Potions class. He's a good student and all, but he just looked so…determined.

"Maybe later," I told my friend, "he's busy."

"Right. That's why," April said with a knowing smirk. I rolled my eyes and did a quick once over of the classroom. This potion was giving everyone a hard time, everyone except Perfect Potter. Even Granger looked like she was about to burst into tears. When the hell did Potter get so good at Potions? I highly doubt that he spent the summer going through frickin' textbooks.

In the end, Potter won the little contest. Slughorn was absolutely amazed. "So here we are then, as promised. One vial of Felix Felicis. Congratulations. Use it well," Slughorn presented the potion to Harry in front of the entire class. You could practically see the envy rolling off of the students, and Draco was giving him a look that could kill. I didn't really care, but I didn't applaud Harry with the other Gryffies.

"You alright?" I whispered to Draco.

"Never better," he replied tightly. I could understand why Draco wouldn't be all that thrilled that Harry won the potion. The two of them have an Alex-Gigi relationship going on here. That pretty much means that they hate each other. But, even so, Draco couldn't be _this_ upset over nothing.

"Draco, come on. That's a load of unicorn crap," I said fiercely in a low voice meant only for him to hear.

"I assure you, Russo, I'm perfectly fine," Draco said a little bit forcefully.

I blinked in surprise. Draco's a little bit of a bully, yeah, and I don't admire that about him…or his superiority complex, but he's never turned those qualities towards me. I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest, "Fine. Forget it. I don't even care anyway." The bells chimed. I grabbed my bag and took off to my next class without looking back.

"Wait, Lark," Draco caught his mistake too late.

"You know," I said angrily as I made my way to History of Magic class, "when you've know someone as well as I know you, you start to take offense when they start brushing you off!"

"It's none of your concern. Why are you making such a big deal about it?" Draco demanded without so much as an apology. He grabbed my elbow to stop me from walking with the rest of the crowds in order to get to my class.

"Because it's obviously affecting you!" I snapped. I took a deep breath and tried to restrain my temper. There were a couple third years watching us. "You won't tell me what's going on!"

"You haven't asked," Draco pointed out. "Actually, you've hardly made an effort to speak to me."

And that's my fault? I wrote the boy at least twice every week during the first two months of summer in an effort to be friends, but who didn't write back? If you guessed Draco Malfoy, then you win! "Okay, I'll ask now. What happened between you and Potter? Why are you so distant?"

"You better get to class," Draco finally said after a painful silence. Figures.

"My thoughts exactly," I spun around and got sucked up with the crowd.

#*#*#*

The first few days of school came and went smoothly. Things went the same as always. April and I almost got caught for an in through the outdoor spell. Since none of the students have ever learned the spell, they were all in chaos, but April and I found it drop dead funny. We got piles and piles of homework, which we somehow managed to finish and turn in. Pansy was as infuriating as ever, and Granger was just as much as a know-it-all as she was last year…and the year before that…and the year before that. Although, Draco kept his distance from me with barely two words spoken to me since that encounter in the hallway.

April and I finished lunch early so we had extra time to kill, which we chose to spend in the common room. I had an outline on The Fifteenth Century Rift due tomorrow, and it would be best to start it now.

"I don't see why you even bother with that class," April said and shook her head.

"Because I need to take it," I informed her. I don't want to be an Auror or work for the Ministry. I want to teach at WizTech, and for that position, I need to pass History of Magic.

"That's the most boring class…well, look at this," April said and looked over my shoulder. "Don't turn around," she quickly advised. I took a leap of faith and did as she said.

"Lark, can I…talk to you?" Draco said from behind me.

"I don't know, can you? Boggart got your tongue?" I continued to work on the assignment.

"Hey, Lark, where's Opal? I'm gonna go find her before she causes a scene," April used my cat as an excuse to leave. I shot her a glare, to which she responded with a smile and wave. I pretended that Draco wasn't there.

"I'd love to talk to you, but I really want to get this homework over with," I told him dismissively.

"You don't give a damn about that homework," Draco scoffed. He was right, but I had to get the stupid thing done one way or another. "Just finish it later," he said impatiently.

"Fine, gosh, who put pixies in your bed this morning?" I closed the book and turned in the couch so that I was facing him. "So, what's so important that you feel the need to grace me with your presence?" I had meant for it to come out as sarcastic and biting, but my heart wasn't in it. I was actually interested in why, so suddenly, Draco's choosing to speak to me.

"It's been difficult for me lately, and I've decided that I'm going to need all the friends I've got," Draco said. He looked vulnerable. The usual sense of confidence and superiority he had was gone. Almost instantaneously my anger at him dissipated. I suddenly didn't care about him breaking my heart, or ignoring me all summer, or that little incident on the train; all I cared about was that something was wrong.

"Draco, you can always talk to me," I assured him gently.

"I know." Draco smiled gratefully at me, and I smiled back without thinking. He was so handsome when he smiled; a definite improvement to his usual sneer. Then Pissy Pansy latched onto Draco's side and glared at me.

"What's going on here?" she asked with thinly veiled suspicion.

"Oh, not much," I said, and just to get a rise out of her, added, "Draco and I are just planning to elope. What's up with you?" Her jaw almost hit the floor, and I kept my expression even for a second before breaking into a grin and laughing. I clutched my sides because the laughter hurt my sides, "Oh, Merlin's beard! Pans, you should've seen your face! It was so…haha!" I couldn't even finish the sentence. Draco wore a slightly amused expression.

"Come on, Draco, let's go," she took his hand in hers and tugged him away. He at least had the decency to cast a questioning glance at me. I shook my head and shrugged, giving him my okay. My heart swelled at the fact that he felt compelled to look for my consent instead of simply following after Pansy.

April took the couch opposite of me as I went back to my homework, "What the bloody hell was that?"

"I think that was Draco's way of apologizing for being a total jerk," I informed her with a small smile.

"Brilliant!" April exclaimed, "Does this mean that you're going to get back together?"

"One step at a time," I laughed, but the thought did snake its way into my mind. There's a chance, not a big chance, but still a chance, that Draco and I could get back together. We could pick up right where we left off. Although, I don't really see that happening any time soon. Draco was finally going to make an effort to mend our broken friendship, and I'm not going to push any further.

Later on, I snuck out on my free period between Transfiguration and DADA to get to the music room on the fifth floor. I've seen a piano in there, and I want to try out this new arrangement. I had to keep my destination a secret. If people found out that I was writing muggle music, my rep would be trashed. Pretty much everyone should be in a class at this time of day, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw Draco sneaking through the hallways.

"What are you doing here?" the two of us demanded of the other at the same time.

I put my hands on my hips, and he stared me down. Neither of us wanted to admit our reasons for being out of class. Well, I have a free period, but _he_ should be in class. "I asked you first," we said in unison.

"I'm heading to the music classroom," I admitted with my notebook in hand.

"Oh and why is that?" Draco pressed.

I sheepishly looked away, "I…uh…it's a good place to think. What about you? Shouldn't you be in class?"

Draco shrugged unashamedly, "I thought I would skip."

Did I just hear that right? Daddy's boy Draco is skipping class? Someone alert the media. "You're what? You're kidding, right?" I asked in surprise. He quickly clamped his hand on my mouth to muffle my exclamation.

"Shut up," he hissed, "someone's going to hear you." I rolled my eyes, and he slowly withdrew his hand.

"Okay, okay. Relax, blondie," I said, noticing that he was still waiting for me to start shouting. I smirked, "Draco, Draco, Draco, I am very disappointed in you, young man."

"Oh, please. You've skipped more classes than I have," Draco scoffed.

"Touché. When did you become such a rebel?" I asked mockingly. Draco didn't counter my question. My teasing manner faded, "Draco, are you alright?"

"Yes, of course," Draco replied. "You better get going before the Music class starts."

"Yeah, I should," I walked around him slowly, keeping my eyes glued on his face. His expression was guarded. Hmm, nice friendship we got going on here. I walked past him and power walked into the music classroom. It was a nice day, sunny and cool. Since wizards have yet to discover the wonders of electricity, the rooms were lit with either candles or windows. Like pretty much all the other classrooms in Hogwarts, the music classroom had beige colored brick walls and heavy deep red curtains. It was a medium sized room cluttered with magical and muggle instruments alike. A sleek black grand piano, a drum set, music stands, portraits on the walls depicted famous wizards and witches who became composers and singers, and even the fat lady in front of the Gryffindor common room had a picture frame in the music room.

I walked across the room and sat on the black piano bench. I flipped through the pages of my notebook until I found a song that had been completed by me and Justin. I gently placed my hands on the smooth white keys and adjusted the positioning of my fingers so that they were on the right keys. My fingers started playing without a second thought. My fingers flew across the keys, weaving a beautiful melody.

All my thoughts, all my troubles, disappeared as the song went on. I lost myself in the music. I forgot for three blessed minutes who I am, where I came from, how I got to where I am now. I forgot that I was the daughter of a Death Eater and a woman who long ago lost her life to a muggle disease, that I live above a restaurant where wizards serve muggles food and drink, and I forgot that I've given up on all my muggle friendships in order to become a better witch.

The song, unlike most songs we play, was haunting. It foretold the story of immense sadness and pain, but it carried beauty and elegance. The tempo was slow and somber, but it had powerful dynamics. Switching between soft and loud. Anger, sadness, but no joy. Justin called it my emo piece, but I didn't care. I slowed to finish the piece.

I grabbed my notebook minutes later when the next Music class was about to start. I took off running and took refuge in the Slytherin common room. April was down there with…Blaise? She was twirling a lock of blond hair around her finger and laughing at something he had said. Ah, so _that's _who she wanted Amortentia for.

I sat on one of the couches and started on that homework from earlier. Stupid homework. I got as much of it done as I could before Defense Against the Dark Arts class started. I managed to get almost all of it done before the chimes. I grabbed my bag and walked with April to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

"Blaise? Really? _That's _who you're crushing on?" I asked her. April and Blaise were like polar opposites. The boy has always kept to himself, and April was a social butterfly. Blaise never got into trouble, and April's middle name is trouble. Blaise thought himself better than everyone no matter what their blood status, and April knew exactly where she was in terms of class order.

"What? No! That preposterous. What makes you think I fancy _Blaise Zabini?_" April seemed to be protesting just a little bit _too _much.

"First of all, _Mer-lin's beard. Blaise, you are _sooo_ funny,"_ I made my voice high pitched and twirled a lock of brown hair around my finger.

"Shut up. People are staring," April hissed.

I sniggered but stopped, "Secondly, you're blushing." My friend didn't say anything after that, and her cheeks started to turn pinker. Haha, I was right! Eh, Blaise and April…that would be weird. April's gone out with some pretty weird guys. For example, there was that Hufflepuff perv she took with her to the Yule Ball. I ended up having to use the Confundus Charm on him in order to get him away from us a week afterwards. I guess seeing her with Blaise would be a step up from that loser.

"Is it like this when you talk to Draco?" April asked.

"Hmm?" I asked questioningly. When I first started to like Draco I usually ended up saying something stupid, or I started joking around with him. Yeah, weird right? Don't worry, Draco didn't joke around. He usually just had a mixture of embarrassment, amusement, and mild disgust on his face. Then I felt like an idiot and started blabbering. After that, he told me to shut up, and I pulled myself together enough to have a conversation with him. Now, it's, like, twelve times better. I don't act like an idiot around him anymore.

"I start to stutter, and my palms start sweating, and I get clumsy," April said with a far-off look in her eyes. Probably daydreaming about Blaise.

"It gets better," I assured her. It did for me…at least until Draco decided that, for some reason, our relationship wasn't working out. Whatever, we're going to try to work things out, right? That's what he made it sound like earlier.

_A/N...Review? :))) let me know what you liked/disliked, and give me suggestions. I like input :) _


	3. Chapter 3

"Why the hell am I sitting through this?" I demanded of April as she pushed me onto the bleacher facing the Quidditch pitch. The Quidditch pitch is a long oval shaped field with three poles of three different sizes on each end of the field. The Gryffindor Quidditch Team's tryouts were today. It was an overcast day with gray skies and chilly temperature. I pulled my gray coat around me more tightly. Potter seemed to be having some trouble keeping his housemates under control.

"Because I want to check out the competition," April stated, "although, it doesn't look very promising if you ask me."

"And I'm here why?" I asked again, "You don't need me here for this. I could totally just be in the common room instead of freezing my ass off." November is not a forgiving month. Chilly wind, gloomy days, but no snow.

"Ugh, fine, go back to the common room if you want," April waved me off dismissively.

"Thanks," I chirped happily and jumped to my feet, "tell me how lame they are, kay?" I ran back to the castle and headed straight for my dorm. My books were scattered all across my bed, and Opal was making herself comfortable in the basket Alex made for her last year. I had to turn in an extra credit report to Professor Trelawny, which would bring up my Divination grade a little bit as Divination had been my lowest O.W.L. I sifted through a pile of parchment until I found the right ones. I shoved them into my bag and took off.

The report was due promptly at four o'clock on Saturday. Well, it's Saturday and three forty-two. Fifteen minutes to get from the Slytherin dungeons up to Trelawny's office on the freaking seventh floor. I ran down a couple younger students on my way up the staircases. I made it to the woman's office seconds before the clock stuck four. I almost collapsed from exhaustion as I turned in the papers, and all I got from her was a freaking 'ah, right on time'. Whatever, as long as I pass.

As I was about to turn away from the Divination staircase, I caught a glimpse of platinum blond hair. Draco hanging out on the seventh floor of the building on a Saturday? That roused my curiosity, so I followed him. Stealthily, I crept around pillars and pressed against the walls of other halls branching from the main hallway. The halls were empty in this part of the castle; which begs the question, what's Draco doing here?

I followed him through the whole seventh floor hallway, but I kept my distance when he finally stopped in front of… a wall. All that for a wall? Well, this was totally worth twenty four minutes of my life. Then something happened. The wall faded and was replaced by a large black iron door…the surprise lasted for about a second before being replaced by the thought, _Typical Hogwarts._

Draco walked in and shut the door behind him. I didn't even bother to follow, as the door faded back into the wall…and the door was no more. Maybe I need therapy. Actually, now that I think about it…why doesn't Uncle Jerry get us to a therapist? We could definitely use one. Oh, wait…it's because my uncle's too cheap to pay for anything over fifty bucks.

I counted to thirty and nonchalantly sidled up to the wall. When I touched the wall I felt…absolutely nothing. It was as if the door had never even existed and Draco had never walked in. It was just like the spell we used on the lair…which we could access through the freezer, but it was just a normal freezer when we wanted it to be. It would be cool, but I kept finding lettuce in the couch.

The way I see it, there are two options. Sit there like a complete stalker or walk away and civilly talk to Draco about it later…I chose, drum roll please, the former. What? Can you blame me? It's not every day you see your ex-boyfriend walk into a disappearing door. I made myself comfortable on the floor and leaned against the wall. I waited…and waited…and waited…and waited… I sighed after a half-hour and took out my notebook. I might as well get some writing done.

Okay, after say an hour…or two…I gave up and headed back to the common room. Talk about strange. Maybe I really was losing it. It could have just been my mind playing tricks on me. I mean, I've really missed Draco and my mind could use that against me. April just plain laughed her ass off when I told her what I had seen. Everyone in the common room stared at us as if we had grown second heads. I shrugged and gave them my best _I-don't-know-her_ look, which had been perfected after years of being in public with the Russo family.

"Did someone sneak a potion into your drink earlier?" April demanded in her fit of laughter, "You stalked Malfoy to a wall where he promptly disappeared?"

I rolled my eyes, "A door appeared on the wall, and he walked in."

"Lark, I love you like a sister, but you are completely mad."

"You didn't see him, April," I pointed out, "he was _sneaking_. When does Draco ever sneak?"

"Uh…when he wants to get into the girls' lavatory?"April was so not taking this seriously.

"This isn't funny!" I exclaimed. Heaven only knows what he could possibly have been doing in that mystery room.

"You're just stressed," April said soothingly, "take a break from schoolwork. Come on, enjoy the weekend. Now, it's my turn to tell you how I spent my day."

"Oh, right. Gryffindor Quidditch try-outs," I remembered, my mind was still curious as to what Draco had been doing. What if he was keeping a hidden pet dragon in there? Or…it could be his and Pansy's secret meeting place. Oh, Merlin, I don't even want to _think _about that. My traitorous mind did anyway. I could picture it. Draco and Pansy cutting classes to sneak to the hidden room of the seventh floor to do God knows what. She'd run her hands through his perfectly combed hair, disheveling it, and he'd wrap his surprisingly strong arms around her waist… "Larkspur, are you even _listening _to me?" April demanded.

I snapped out of it and shook my head, "Sorry. My mind's off somewhere. What were you saying?"

April rolled her eyes, "I was saying that Mudblood Granger used a confundus charm to make McLaggen miss a quaffle. What do you think? Any chance Granger and Weasley are snogging behind everyone's backs?"

I snickered. So _that's _what Granger's resorting to nowadays? How pitiful. "Well, that's just plain sad…and a little bit impressive."April stared at me as if I had lost my mind. I was seeing doors that didn't exist…yeah, I lost my mind a long time ago. I sighed and elaborated, "Who knew that Granger would use magic to give Ron an edge during try-outs? Or maybe Weasley knew that she would do that the whole time."

April was silent as she digested this proposal, then she laughed, "Weasley isn't smart enough to figure out that he has her wrapped around his little finger." Eh, true enough. Ron isn't the brightest one out there…or the bravest…in fact, how'd he even get into Gryffindor? Boy's got himself one Hufflepuff personality.

"I guess you're right," I agreed with a shrug, "but you never know. Maybe there's more to Weasley than meets the eye."

"And maybe toads fly," April retorted. She glanced over my shoulder and coughed loudly. I raised an eyebrow. What the hell is she doing? I caught on too late, because the next thing I know, lightning shoots down my arm from where a hand touched my shoulder. Only one person could make me react like that.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Draco asked me.

I shot a look at April and caught her motioning like an idiot. Subtle, April, real subtle. Anyway, I took her hint, got up from where I sat, and followed Draco to the privacy of an aisle between two bookcases. "What's up?" I asked as brightly and interestedly as I could. Do I want to ask him about that little excursion earlier? Hell to the yeah. Will I? Psh, no.

"I…" Draco started, looked me in the eyes, sighed, and ran a hand through that silky blond hair of his. I don't know how to describe the way he looked at me. It was like he was _nervous_ or _hesitant._ Hmm…Happy Uncharacteristic Draco Day everyone! Haha, see what I did there? No…never mind.

"Spit it out, Malfoy," I said with laughter in my voice so that it wouldn't come out sharply.

Draco locked eyes with me again, and I swear to God that the mere look in his eyes made my breath hitch, "Would you like to accompany me to the Three Broomsticks? There's a trip to Hogsmeade pretty soon, right? That is…if you don't already have plans or anything."

Holy unicorn crap. Did he just…? Is he…? Merlin's freaking pants! _Breathe, Lark, breathe, _I reminded myself. Okay, now that I'm getting oxygen back to my head, I could think. It's not a date right? Draco's with Pansy now, and we were just friends. I mean, we've gotten this whole friendship thing going smoothly over the past month. He wouldn't really just ask me out, would he? No, I need to stop reading into things and give him an answer. "Just as friends, right?" I asked uncertainly. Uncertain because I don't know what I want his answer to be.

I swear that I saw him actually recoil at the question, but I passed it off as my mind playing tricks on me. "Of course," Draco replied politely. I felt that stubborn glimmer of hope die as he said it. I shouldn't have been expecting…_hoping_…for any other answer.

"Sure, why not?" I accepted with a small smile.

"Meet me there at three," Draco said happily. He started to walk away, cast one look over his shoulder at me, and continued walking again. I walked in a slow daze back to April; my mind still attempted to process what had just happened.

Draco had asked me out; albeit, just as friends…but still. The intent was there. Maybe there was still a chance. A chance that Draco and I could restore what we had. He was making an effort to rebuild our friendship. One step at a time. We've made it through the last month decently; wishful thinking could possibly ruin that delicate relationship we've got going on.

"Well?" April asked expectantly when I returned.

"I may have just made a date with Draco Malfoy," I said dumbfoundedly. Then I buried my face in my hands and shook my head, "What have I done?" Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. And – have I mentioned? – stupid.

_A/N...Okay, so my updates aren't very frequent, I know. Sorry about that. Please let me know what you think? :) Please review or PM me what you think so I know what to fix and how to make it more enjoyable to all my readers. I have a poll up on my profile so you can all vote for which story I should fiinish first, please vote so I know which ones I should finish first and which order to finish them. Thanks :D _

_I reuploaded this chapter because I forgot to spellcheck and grammarcheck it. xD My bad. _


	4. Chapter 4

"That's so fantastic!" April exclaimed for what must've been the thousandth time today. We were sitting at the long Slytherin table in the Great Hall, but Draco was nowhere to be found. It's possible that he could've just grabbed a quick snack and gone up to the common room, but I was kind of nervous. What if he realized that it was a stupid thing to ask me to meet him in Hogsmeade? Haha….I. Am. Freaking. Out!

"April, _please,_" I hissed in embarrassment. I noticed some of our housemates staring at her. Pansy was snickering her little ass off. "We're just hanging out. It's not a big deal or anything." I wish it was, but it's not. Does this mean something? Is he saying that we're going to be in the friend zone for forever? Is this his nice way of saying he's not into me? I mean, if he wanted this to be a date, he would've asked me to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, right? Shoot, what if he saw me creeping on him earlier? That would kill any possibility of ever getting back together. This is not good. Not good at all. My panic must've shown on my face, because April sighed and bumped me with her shoulder.

"For Merlin's sake, would you relax? Bloody hell, you're quivering like a house elf!"

"You would be too if you were in my position," I replied and shoveled an overflowing fork full of stir fry into my mouth. Eating helps me think.

"Why, if Blaise asked me to have a butterbeer with him, I'd be rather excited," April said.

I scoffed, "Has it even occurred to you that Draco may have seen me following him?" My guess is that she hadn't thought of that…at all.

"Well, that's entirely your fault," April stated. "Why can't you just mind your own business?"

"'Cause, I wanna know what's going on. I want to know what's going on in that room," I told her firmly.

"Mind if I sit here?" Draco asked from behind us.

"Not at all," April replied immediately. I glared at her then quickly turned to Draco with a smile plastered on my face. It was the kind of smile I gave my customers, polite, welcoming, and friendly. Dear Merlin, please, Cruciate me now before I do something stupid.

"Yeah, go ahead. It's not like anyone's sitting there. Well, except that second year, but I'm sure he could scoot over if you just ask," I sounded like an idiot. I thought I was done with the whole nervous phase around this guy!

Draco didn't have to say anything. He just looked at the young boy, and the kid moved over like Draco had leprosy or something. Then Draco sat on the bench next to me; I inched closer to April because he was so close that our sides were touching. I busied myself with my surprisingly still full plate to avoid looking directly at him. "I see your appetite hasn't changed any," Draco remarked as he daintily piled some food on his plate.

"You should've seen her at breakfast the first day," April told him.

"Shut up," I said after swallowing. "I'm a growing girl. Do you have any idea how much food a Russo consumes in a month?"

"Enough to feed a Hungarian Horntail?" Draco guessed playfully. I know what you're thinking. Who knew Draco had a playful side, right? It never ceases to amaze me either.

"Can we talk about something other than my appetite?" I asked for a change of subject.

"I saw the Gryffindor Quidditch try-outs," April told Draco.

"Oh?" Draco asked with mild interest, "I bet Potter let all his mates on the team."

April scoffed, "Weasley made Keeper."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Weasley? He doesn't have an ounce of skill. Even Potter can't be stupid enough to let Weasley on the team." I didn't actually witness the try outs, but I took April's word for it. No offense to Ron or anything, but the guy's not really _that _coordinated. Maybe it's that Mudblood rubbing off on him.

"He's obviously lost every shred of sanity," April agreed, and then a devious smirk took over her features. "Granger did a Confundus to make sure Weasley got a place on the team. Can you believe it?"

"Yes," Draco and I said at the same time.

"She fancies him," Draco sneered.

"I've always thought she fancied Potter," April replied.

"You never know," I said, taking a different point of view than my best friend and…whatever the hell Draco is to me right now. "Maybe Ron _knows _he has Granger at his beck and call." It's a possibility. Hey, I've taken advantage of people enough times in my sixteen years. Plus, Alex does it on a daily basis.

"You don't really think that Weasley's that smart, do you?" Draco asked in disbelief.

"That's what I said," April added unhelpfully.

I pointed my fork at him, "Hey, it's possible."

"Riiight," Draco drew the word out sarcastically. "The day Weasley starts to realize that Granger's following him around like an ugly puppy is the day Potter and I have tea." Yeah, that's never going to happen.

"Okay, okay, I get it," I said with a small amused smile playing at my lips. Draco having tea with Harry would be a sight. I could imagine it now.

"Draco," Pansy spoke from behind us. I turned around tensely to see the girl with her arms crossed angrily in front of her.

"April, and Larkspur," I continued irritably. I do not enjoy being ignored. She glared at me and then at Draco.

"Come on, I saved you a spot," she held her hand out to him expectantly. I just turned back to my food nonchalantly. I wouldn't be surprised if Draco would rather sit with his new girlfriend than with me and April.

"I think I'll stay here," Draco said simply. My head shot up in shock, and Pansy's jaw practically hit the floor. I smirked triumphantly at Pansy. _Ha! Take _that, I thought with satisfaction at her expression. She _hmmph_ed and stomped away. Draco gave me a small smile, not a smirk, a real honest to goodness smile. Best peace offering ever.

Later, in our dorm, April was having herself a good old time at my expense. I held my notebook close to my chest while she danced around the room. "April, you are my best friend, and I love you dearly, but would you please _cut it out?_" I pleaded. I can't have my best friend looking like a _total _idiot.

"Did you _see_ that, though?" April demanded, "He turned down Parkinson for you. Lark, he wants to get back together."

I rolled my eyes, "You're reading too much into things."

"I am not. Draco would rather spend his supper with you than with Pissy Parkinson, doesn't that tell you _anything?_"

I sighed and put my notebook down on my lap, "Okay, fine! Yes. It makes me feel like I have sparks lighting up every vein in my body. It makes me wonder whether or not he wants to be more than friends, but I know that he doesn't _want _that. He dumped me, April, hasn't made any contact with me over summer, and was basically a total dick to me when school started. Okay? What about that makes you think that he wants to get back together? Maybe we're fine where we're at." Okay, okay, okay. Everything, or at least _most _of what I said, is complete BS.

"He's trying, Lark," April said tiredly, as if I was a kid who had to be told something a thousand times before finally remembering it.

"I don't care," I said stubbornly. "I _will_ care when he does or says something in specific to make me think otherwise."

"Am I the only one here who thinks it's odd that Draco's the one making an effort here?" No. I'm thinking the same thing, but why the hell should I even bother trying if it's not going to get me anywhere? I've had enough thinking. I got out of my bed and slid on a pair of sneakers. "Where are you going?" April demanded. It was well after curfew, and we were confined to our dorms. At least if Mr. Filch caught us sneaking.

"I need to think," I stated simply. Then I walked past the Slytherin girls, somehow managing to avoid Pansy, and escaped the Slytherin dungeon. I had to get up to the Music Room; my fingers were already twitching with the need to play. Plus, I had to call Alex… or even Justin. They both give pretty good advice.

It seemed like forever to get up to the Music Room, but it was worth it. Sneaking out at night can be punished severely, but I've done it before. Anyway, when I got up there I played. My fingers danced and crossed and lifted, weaving a beautiful intricate melody. Fast paced, halting pauses, always changing. It's a confusing piece, yes, but that's what I am right now. Confused as hell.

I sat on the floor after I played and leaned my back on the wall. My notebook was safely laid in my lap. I took out my wand. A good old-fashioned 10 ¾" cherry with a dragon heartstring core. It's not as fancy as my cousins' high performance wands, but it gets the job done. Its capacity isn't as high as theirs, but I do have a couple apps. I dialed Alex's wand number on my wand, something none of the other European wands can do, and held it up to my ear like a phone.

"Hello?" Alex answered.

"Lex, it's me," I replied.

"Hey, Lark!" Alex greeted happily, "What's up?"

"Trying not to get detention for being out past curfew," I replied honestly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Oooh, what'd you do?" my dear cousin asked, ready to hear the worst.

"I might have made a date with Draco," I told her.

"Oh my God! No way. You did _not,_" I could picture her sitting on the orange couch in front of the TV, then sitting up when I told her the news. "I thought you weren't talking to him."

"I wasn't, but he's so…_Draco_. It's impossible to completely ignore the guy! Ugh, Lex, what do I do?" I groaned.

"You can always change your name and move to Canada," Alex suggested. Tempting, but not really what I'm looking for.

"Alex, I'm serious!"

"So am I. You don't want anything to do with him. Professor Krums is saying some stuff about that guy's dad on the news. They tried to get into the prison for some footage, but they couldn't get in."

"Just because his dad isn't the best guy, doesn't mean that Draco's like that!" I argued defensively.

"Ahhh, there it is," I could hear the smirk in her voice.

"There what is?" I asked dumbly.

"You _liiike _him," Alex sang. "You wouldn't defend him if you didn't like him. You know I don't care about all that political crap. If you like the guy, then go for it. When do we get to meet him?"

"Let me finish! I don't know what to do. He asked me to meet him at the Three Broomsticks next weekend, but he said it's just as friends. Then, at dinner, he told Pansy that he'd just stay with me and April. What does that mean?"

"Oh my God, he likes you! You should just go with it. Don't think too much. I know I don't. I still can't believe that we haven't met him yet," Alex stated.

"Knock it off, Lex. I'm not taking Draco Malfoy back to the Sub Station," the mere idea of it sounded incredibly stupid. I could just see it. Draco with his neatly combed platinum hair and tailored black suit sitting in the second-hand booth of the Sub Station eating one of Uncle Jerry's BLTs. "I gotta go. It's getting late, and I don't want to get caught. I'll call soon. Tell Uncle Jerry and Aunt Theresa that I'm doing fine so far. Make sure Max stays out of my stuff. And let Justin know that I'm going to need his help when N.E.W.T.s come around. Thanks, Alex."

"Oh, no problem. Bye." I hung up and put my wand back into my back pocket. I opened the door just a crack and peeked out. I decided that the coast was clear and eased out the door. Okay, my night vision is not the best. I ended up walking into someone and falling to the ground in a mess of tangled limbs with an _oomph._ "S***," I hissed in a whisper. Great, now I've been caught.

"Lark?" Draco's familiar voice spoke questioningly. Draco? What was he doing out this late at night? I was actually relieved that I hadn't bumped into Filch.

"What are you doing here?" we both asked at the same exact time in hushed tones. Complete irritation was plain on his features. I didn't answer first; I answered first the last time we crossed paths on this floor. When we disentangled ourselves and stood up, I crossed my arms and stared him down.

"I couldn't sleep," Draco stated.

"So you wandered to the fifth floor?" I said skeptically. I know exactly where he's been. That disappearing room from earlier. He just shrugged in reply. What popped into my head was my theory of Draco sneaking to meet Pansy, but I'm pretty sure that she was in the dorm. Unless she snuck out after I left. Shoot, then there's a chance that she could've seen me leave.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Draco asked to avoid the question. _He must've been apologizing to her for what happened at dinner,_ I thought.

"Music Room," I replied simply. Truth. Malfoy doesn't need to know that I called my cousin. Actually, he doesn't need to know that I called Alex to talk about him.

"Right," Draco said as if he wasn't surprised. "Well, we might as well walk back to the common room together now."

More time with Draco? I have no problem with that, but I do question about what this means. We can just walk back to the dungeons together without it meaning anything, right? What if Pansy comes out of nowhere? What would Draco say then? "Sure," I said after a moment of hesitation.

"So, how're you doing?" Draco asked conversationally as we walked through the hall with the tips of our wands lit up with the Lumos charm.

"I'm good. Homework and all that still sucks, you know? How 'bout you?"

"I've been having some trouble with homework. I can't really keep up. It's no big deal," Draco shrugged it off.

"You know that it's not good for you to be falling behind in homework," I said sternly. Most of our homework counted for a large part of our grade. "It's not like you to fall behind with homework. Is something up?" I wanted to know for two main reasons. First of all, this could be something troubling Draco. Secondly, it might explain what all the sneaking is about.

"No, I'm fine," Draco said assuredly. I'm so sure.

"Then why are you falling behind?" I asked the young man. Even I don't fall behind on homework. It's, like, a sin or something.

"It's become _such _a bother," Draco said off handedly.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked skeptically. Here's the deal. If _I_ can do the extremely unreasonable amount of homework we get, then Malfoy definitely could. He didn't answer my question after that. "Draco, this counts for at least forty percent of your grade," I continued. "You're not like me, this isn't normal for you."

I've never really given a crap about anything except for Hogwarts. Magic is all that I have that defines me. Without it…? I'm a muggle. Simple as that. Without magic or a possible future with magic, all I am is a teenage slacker who waitresses at a sandwich shop in Waverly Place, New York, who writes music for a dead end career. Draco, on the other hand, would be a spoiled rich boy who could probably buy his way into any muggle college he wants and become some wealthy politician. This is the worst case scenario. He probably wouldn't even _need_ to bother with college because he's loaded.

"It's none of your business, Larkspur. You ought to focus more on your own problems," Draco snapped irritably.

"I'm just trying to help you!" I exclaimed in a forceful whisper, "Friends help each other out, Malfoy. It's okay to need help." I stopped walking and stood face to face with him. He stood a few inches taller than me, and I had to look up at him to meet his eyes. If eyes are the windows to the soul, then this guy has the drapes pulled down. He kept his expression even, and he even held my gaze for a moment before attempting to look away.

Impulsively, I gently took his face with my free hand and stopped him from looking away. Bad, bad, _bad_ idea. Something flashed in his eyes; thinking that it was disgust, I embarrassedly withdrew my hand and shoved it in my pocket. I was gripping my wand with my other hand so tightly that I thought it would snap. I dimmed the light on my wand in an attempt to hide my blush. I. Am. An. Idiot. Say it with me now…

"You're right," Draco admitted. Damn right I…wait, what?

"Huh?" I sounded so confused. Like Aunt Theresa when I'm telling Justin about my classes.

"You're right," he repeated. "I shouldn't be so ungrateful. You're just looking out for me." Uh…did we just come to an understanding? I think we did. Wow. This is not a bad day…I think.

I blinked once to make sure I hadn't fallen asleep on my feet and this wasn't just a dream. Yup, reality. "What? I don't think I heard you right," I said playfully, "say that again?"

"Ha, ha, ha," Draco said sarcastically and rolled his eyes, "you're hilarious." _Okay, phew, moment over,_ I thought with relief. We continued to walk in companionable silence towards the dungeons. Every once in a while we had to duck behind corners or press up against the walls whenever one of us suspected Filch to be coming nearby. Our wands were dimmed so that we only got an extremely faint light. Okay, walking down moving staircases in the middle of the night? Not exactly a good time.

When we finally made it to the common room, which was completely empty, thank Merlin, Draco asked, "We're still on for the Three Broomsticks next weekend, right?"

"Yeah, of course," I replied with a smile.

Draco smiled back, genuinely, "Brilliant. I'll see you tomorrow." Then he started to stride

towards the door to his dorm. I called out his name to stop him. Draco turned around and faced me.

"If you ever need help keeping up with the homework…I'm always here," I promised him.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Draco said. "Good night, Lark."

"Night, blondie," I replied and watched him disappear into the darkened doorway. As I crawled into bed that night, only one thought ran through my head, _What is going on in that room?_ It played in my mind again and again, like a broken CD. I drifted to sleep with a picture of Draco's smiling face imprinted on my memory.

_A/N...Does anyone think Draco's getting OOC? Just wanna make sure. Thanks for reviewing, guys, it means a lot to me :)) Keep it up. I wanted to put in more of the Wizards of Waverly Place characters into this chapter, and there's going to be more of them eventually (especially for the holidays). On to more important matters, next chapter...Draco and Lark's date ;) Thanks for reading...don't forget to vote for which story I should finish first._


	5. Chapter 5

It was snowing in Hogsmeade. It always snows in Hogsmeade. Hogsmeade is a cute little village run completely by wizards and witches. Anyway, the village is on a nice little clearing up in the mountains, which is why it's always snowing. All the buildings mostly resembled cottages with high chimneys. It'd actually make a nice little vacation spot for winter break. I'm sure they've got some decent skiing spots here. I was hanging out with April in Honeydukes, a very _colorful_ candy store in the village. During the week, I had snuck glances with Draco and even helped him do most of his homework. He told me to meet him at two. We arrived at twelve thirty, and it's only one o'clock now.

"Nervous?" April asked amusedly when she saw me wringing out a licorice wand. I didn't mean to abuse the candy. It was completely an accident.

"A little bit," I admitted and bit on the candy. More like a lotta bit. I'm freaking out, man, freaking out! I went through five different outfits this morning and had April judge all of them. _That's_ how freaked out I am.

"Calm down, Lark, have a chocolate frog," April advised. I shook my head and glanced out the window. The longer I waited the more anxious I got. My fingers drummed my side impatiently, and I kept looking at my watch.

"Jittery today, Russo?" Pansy sneered as she pushed past me. I took aim with my candy wand and threw it at her head. I did not expect it to actually hit her, but I was satisfied when it did. She turned around and fixed me with a glare. I gave her my sweetest smile and shrugged innocently. As usual, she scampered away.

"You really are, you know?" April said as we walked out of the shop into the blistering cold. I tightened my silver and green scarf around my neck and shoved my black gloved hands into my pockets.

"Yes, I know," I groaned. "I'm terrified. This last week has been so much like it used to be…I have no idea what's going to happen after this. Just a short while ago, I hated his guts. Now, it's like nothing ever changed."

"He still looks at you the same," April informed me. "Whenever you aren't looking, he's watching you. Not in a creepy way, though. He'll glance at you when you're reading in the library or when you're writing in the common room."

I've never noticed this before. Not at all. "You're imagining things," I scoffed. Draco has better things to do than watch me. I'm nothing special. Do I wish he would look at me the way he did before we broke up? Yes, I do. Does he? Well, it'd be stupid to get my hopes up. Well, my heart didn't exactly get the message. That stubborn flower of hope seemed to be glowing today. Not only was I anxious, I was _giddy._ I want to meet Draco today, and I want to have a good time with him over a couple butterbeers.

April laughed, "Whatever. How are you?"

"Honestly? I feel like skipping, or maybe running…possibly both," I replied thoughtfully. Hmm, how would that work? I'd probably end up falling flat on my face.

April nodded in understanding, "You want to go over there now, don't you?"

I threw my head back and laughed, "Well, maybe just a little bit, but then I'd look desperate. No way, I think I'll hang out here with you for now."

"Sure. Are you still stalking him?" April asked conversationally while we walked through the quaint village.

"I am not stalking him," I protested defensively, "I just want to know why he's sneaking." This past week, I've gone up to the music room every night just to follow Draco up to the seventh floor and wait for him to come back out. Some nights, he didn't leave the room, and I'd give up. Others, he would spend hours in there, and I'd hide in the shadows with my wand, quill, and notebook.

"And the solution to sneaking is more sneaking?"

"Well…uh…maybe…" I mumbled and trailed off, starting to whistle nonchalantly. Which turned into humming. Which turned into me wishing I had my notebook with me.

"You are absolutely pathetic," April shook her head disappointedly.

"Hey, not _absolutely_ pathetic. I'll have you know, my uncle has had the title of absolutely pathetic for twenty seven years." She just shook her head, and we kept walking. By the time it was one fifty five, I hastily said bye to April and _ran_ to the Three Broomsticks.

Despite the frosty weather outside, the Three Broomsticks was warm. There were a lot of people at the bar, in booths, and at tables. I recognized many of them as fellow Hogwarts students, including Ginny Weasley sitting in a booth with her boyfriend. I shed my coat, gloves, earmuffs, and scarf before sitting at a booth and waiting for Draco. Surprising that I had beat him here. One of the workers walked up to me.

"Anything to drink?" he asked.

I shook my head politely, "No thank you, I'm waiting for someone."

"I'll come back later, then," he said and walked away. So I waited for Draco to walk in the door. It was two o'five, and Draco still hadn't walked in. It's not a big deal. He's probably just trying to get away from Crabbe and Goyle. Seriously, they tried to follow us on one of our dates before. And April thinks I'm the stalker here.

Two twenty-five, and Draco still hadn't arrived. I was starting to worry. Maybe something happened to him. Hogsmeade's always been a pretty safe place, but anything could happen nowadays. I'm probably just overreacting. People are late sometimes; it happens. I should just be a little bit more patient and stop worrying.

Three o'clock. Professor Slughorn walked in and headed straight for the bar. A few seconds after, Harry, Granger, and Ron entered the pub and took a table. I've been sitting there for an hour, and Draco still hasn't appeared. The waiter walked up again and asked if I wanted something to drink. This time, I ordered a butterbeer. After waiting an hour, I give up. Might as well enjoy a drink while I'm here. Maybe I'll look a little bit less pathetic.

Three o'six. The waiter comes back with a mug of sugary butterscotch colored drink. I thanked him and took a sip of it. It's not alcoholic, but I kind of wish it was. _Great, I've been stood up. Pansy's gonna have a good time over this,_ I thought bitterly.

Three fifteen. I finished my drink and laid down a few sickles. I wasn't surprised that I felt hurt. This is what I get for getting my hopes up. I put on my coat and scarf and started walking towards the door. I'm so stupid. Here I was, actually thinking that Draco gave a s*** about me again after cutting me off completely over the whole summer. I can't believe I let him manipulate me like that. It's not like me to let my guard down, but that's Draco for you. He can be my worst enemy, and yet, I'd still care about him. The whole time I bet he's just been using me to keep his grades up.

"Lark?" April asked tentatively on the train back to Hogwarts. I wasn't sitting with her or the others. I sat alone in a compartment with the blinds pulled down over the window. I wasn't crying. I wouldn't let myself do that here, maybe later in the music room.

"Go away," I ordered dryly. I don't want to see anyone right now, not even my best friend. She ignored me entered the compartment, closing the door behind her. Her blue eyes were shining with concern for me.

"What happened?" she asked gently.

"He stood me up," I replied in a gravelly voice. The truth of it made my chest tighten up and eyes burn.

"That son of a house elf," April growled menacingly. She would get him back somehow, with or without me. It's just how we do things; always have each others' back, you know? When a Ravenclaw named Declan Haworth dumped April, I got him back by turning his sheets into snakes. The guy was screaming so loudly that I could practically hear him from the Slytherin common room.

"Don't," I warned her, knowing what would come next.

"Lark, it's one thing to be broken up with, it's an entirely other thing when you're stood up!" April exclaimed angrily, "He deserves what's coming to him. That boy's put you through enough unicorn s***."

"April, _don't_. Don't show him that I care. Don't let him know that I actually sat there for an hour, beating myself up about what would happen next."

She searched my gaze for a moment before nodding and saying in a soft voice, "Okay, Lark, whatever you say." I'm lucky to have a friend like April. Someone who would stand by me through all the rough spots. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I choked the words out. "Just give me a few minutes." I wanted to go up to the music room and take all my anger out on the piano. I had to do something, or else I'd break down.

"Lark…" she started to say, but then decided against it. We rode back to the school in silence. Everytime I heard someone giggling outside, I assumed that it was Pansy telling everyone I had been stood up. It could be logical. Draco probably had forgotten about me to be with Pansy, or else he had purposely made a fool out of me and then bragged about it for the laughs.

"We don't speak of this to anyone except each other," I told her before we got off the train. I wouldn't be able to stand it if I became the next gossip. April wouldn't tell anyone, I know she won't.

I didn't see him get off the train, but I looked. I swept my gaze over the crowd of students for his platinum blond hair, but I couldn't find him. I don't know if I wanted him to be far away, or if I wanted him to be searching for me too. Whatever. I don't care. I pushed through the crowd, glaring at anyone who dared to invade my personal space. I gave April my coat with my scarf, earmuffs, and gloves stuffed in the sleeves because I don't want to go anywhere near the common room. Draco might be lurking there.

I went straight for the music room. My safe haven where I don't have to worry about what anybody thinks or does or says. The one place in the whole damn school where I don't have to be constantly on edge of someone stabbing me in the back or using me to get their way. Trust is something Slytherins seem to be lacking in.

I sat on the bench and placed my fingers on the keys. I didn't need my notebook for this one. I have it memorized by heart. Why? It's the last piece of music my mom wrote before she died. I let the soft introduction begin, and I played my mother's story. I could hear my own story in hers. Joy, then love, then sadness, then anger, then joy and love again, and sorrow. Her story was different than mine, though. Her joy was the joy of finding love in England; her sadness was my father being taken away; her anger was anger that her husband was a Death Eater; her joy and love was my birth; her sorrow was dying before her own daughter reached the age of two.

My joy was being sent to Hogwarts and eventually meeting Draco, my sadness happened when he broke up with me, my anger was when he refused to answer my owl, my joy and love was being around him this past week with his warm smiles and things being the way they used to be, and my sorrow is now.

As the song drew on, I felt the keys become slippery with tears that were falling from my face. I was finally letting it out, pouring my own emotions into my music. The trigger was the trace of my mother in the music. I played until I couldn't play anymore; my quiet heartbreak had taken over. I lifted my hands from the keys and gripped the edge of the bench, and I cried. I sat there crying with my tears dripping onto the piano.

_A/N...Poor Lark! Did anyone else here think that Malfoy could be such a jerk? Let me know what you think, review please! I need to know what you guys think so that I could do some editing or continue or whatever! Thanks to my reviewers for their support! :) _


	6. Chapter 6

So, tell me, Cormac, do you see anything of your Uncle Tiberius these days?" Professor Slughorn asked the Gryffindor at a 'dinner party'. I hadn't planned on attending or even getting invited. I'm sure that Slughorn sees how unmotivated I am, but that's not why we're here. From what I could tell with the conversations he keeps starting, it's all about fame. McLaggen has a famous uncle, Neville's parents are famous aurors, Blaise has a famous mother, and Harry's the freakin' Boy-Who-Lived. I'm okay with him, but we aren't the best of friends. I gave him a polite smile of acknowledgement, which he returned, and sat next to Blaise.

It's been a while since the Hogsmeade incident, and I've avoided Draco completely. I've even stopped going up to the music room just so that there wouldn't even be a chance of me meeting up with Malfoy at night like we have before. I ignore him in class, and I only talk to him when absolutely necessary. Pretty much saying that I only talk to him when I need to borrow ingredients for Potions class.

Back to the present. We were all sitting at a round table with large bowls of ice cream in front of each and every one of us. It was so artfully beautiful, that I almost couldn't bring myself to eat it…almost. We were all dressed semi-formally. We're warned to bring clothes for all occasions with us to the school. My outfit was a simple silver dress that fell to above my knees with no embroidery and thin straps, gray stockings, and black flats. I even did something with my hair…sort of – I stuck a silver headband on.

"Yes, sir," McLaggen replied with what I perceive to be arrogance. "In fact, I'm meant to go hunting with him and the Minister of Magic over the holidays." And they say that Slytherins are boastful. Obviously, somebody overlooked Cormac.

"Well," Slughorn sounded impressed, "be sure to give them both my best. What about your uncle, Belby?" He turned to the Ravenclaw, who was pigging out on his ice cream next to me like Uncle Jerry in the kitchen when nobody was looking. "For those of you who don't know, Marcus's uncle invented the Wolfsbane potion," the old man explained to us before speaking directly to Belby again. "Is he working on anything new?"

"Don't know," Belby managed to say through a mouthful of ice cream. Okay, it's good ice cream. I admit, but he could at least try not to splatter it on my dress.

"Switch with me," I hissed to Blaise.

"No way," he whispered back, and watched Belby with a look that said, 'Ha, ha. I'm better than you.'

"Him and Dad don't get on. Probably because me dad says potions are rubbish." Yeah…not the best thing to say to the _potions_ master. I snickered and hid it by scooping a delicate spoonful into my mouth. "Says the only potion worth having is a stiff one at the end of the day." Insert face-palm here.

"What about you, Miss Granger? What does your family do in the, muggle world?" Slughorn asked with interest. I tried not to cringe. Thank God that Slughorn doesn't know about my family in New York. I'd be pretty screwed if he asked me that same question.

"My parents are dentists," Granger replied. I choked on my ice cream, holding back a laugh. Oh God, this is _priceless_. Mudblood Granger's parents are dentists. I've always hated the dentist. Nobody is gonna be sticking their hand in my mouth without some form of retaliation. There were shared looks of confusion from the students. "They tend to people's teeth," she explained. _And gave many people nightmares as children, _I added in my head.

"Fascinating. And is that considered a dangerous profession?" Slughorn leaned forward on the table. Okay, I'm a little bit disappointed. Granger probably had a better upbringing than I had. Being a dentist is much better than being the owners of a sandwich shop that barely pushes through.

"No," Granger replied. She looked like a deer caught in headlights. I almost felt sorry for her. "Although, one boy, Robbie Fenwick, did bite my father once," her laugh sounded too fake. "He needed ten stitches." Everyone looked up from their ice cream to look confusedly at Granger. Oh, right. They don't have stitches in the wizard world because magic fixes all. Ouch. Ten stitches from some kid biting him on the hand? Kid must've had one heck of a jaw.

The door opened and saved Granger from the awkward moment she had created. "Ah, Miss Weasley. Come in, come in," Slughorn greeted merrily. Like. A. Freaking. Balding. Santa. Granger leaned in to whisper something to Harry. I looked at Ginny. She looked pretty as always, and she was dressed up nicely in a sparkly black dress. Yet, she looked like crap.

"Sorry. I'm not usually late," Ginny apologized. She walked to the empty spot on Belby's other side. Harry shot up from his chair to stand. This little get together just gets more and more interesting.

"No matter. You're just in time for dessert, that is, if Belby's left you any," Slughorn joked. I'm not so sure about that, prof. I saw Belby reach for Ginny's bowl once or twice. The professor let out a wheezy laugh. Potter sat back down. McLaggen gave Granger a look that made me want to call the cops. And I just wanted to get out.

Thankfully, the dinner didn't last all night. "Goodbye," Slughorn said as we all left his office, "bye-bye." As soon as we all walked out. Ugh, that took forever. What a waste of an evening. I could've gotten ahead on my homework instead of sitting there and answering questions about my great-uncle twice removed or something!

"Where are you going, Russo?" Blaise asked as I turned down a hall that would lead me to the music room, not the dungeons.

"That party had me cooped up for too long," I said breezily, "I'll see you tomorrow. Night, Z-man." Then I took off without seeing the distasteful look I know Blaise wore at my nickname.

I've been avoiding Draco even though it's taken a toll on my music. That's unacceptable. I desperately needed to get somewhere private to play, and then I have to call Alex. I need to tell her about my lack of a love life. It's not as if Draco hasn't tried to explain himself; I just don't want to listen. It's almost time for us to pack up and go back home for the holidays, as McLaggen pointed out. If I could make it without speaking to Draco until the holidays are over, maybe I could make sense of things.

I immediately felt more peaceful once I step foot in the classroom. I practically jumped on the bench because I was going through music withdrawal. I opened my notebook and set it on the piano; is it wrong that I carry it with me practically everywhere? As soon as my fingers touched the keys, I played something different than my usual songs. This one was impatient and almost delightful. I easily added my own flare to it, turning it from classical to pop.

"That's interesting," a familiar voice drawled from behind me. I jumped and my fingers pressed down on the keys, creating an awful combination. I swiveled around to glare at the guy lurking in the shadows. "Is that what you sneak up here to do all the time? I'm actually relieved. I thought you were meeting Potter up here or something."

_Seriously? _That's _what the friggin' ass thought I was doing here?_ I thought in disbelief. I closed myself off and turned back to the piano, "So, you're creeping me now. That's pretty low of you, Malfoy. What are you doing here?" I really hope that my voice wasn't shaking.

"You haven't spoken to me. Whenever I try to talk to you, you run away. You won't listen to Nott, Greengrass, or Zabini. I'm running out of options!" he sounded extremely frustrated. Good. Let him be.

"Just be glad I didn't let April transfigure the urinals in the boys' bathroom," I retorted. That would've been funny, but I'm not in the pranking mood lately.

"Larkspur, I was caught up!" Draco explained.

"Huh? When?" I asked dumbly. Better to pretend that I haven't been thinking that day over a million times in my head. I will not show him that I care.

"You're impossible!" Draco exclaimed and threw his arms up, "I didn't mean…I would've been there if I could, Lark."

"It's fine," I replied coolly, "I really don't care." I may have said this a little bit too forcefully. _Way to play it cool, Lark. _Draco remained silent, and I hoped that he had left the room.

"That's a load of rubbish," Draco finally stated. "If you didn't care, you wouldn't be acting like this."

"Acting like…?" I motioned for him to get to the point.

"Acting like it never happened. Ignoring me," Draco answered. "Admit it. You care that I didn't show to our date."

"Date?" I sneered and laughed sharply, "It wouldn't have been a date even if you showed up!"

"You know, for someone who doesn't care about it, you're making a rather big deal," Draco said. I didn't even realize that I got up from the bench or that we had been advancing towards each other until I was looking straight up at him.

"I don't," I instantly denied it. He raised an eyebrow at me questioningly. I felt some of my anger at him dissolve. Okay, I let him off the hook earlier in the year because I felt sorry for him. Now, I'm just plain pissed, but that look he was giving me was actually kinda cute. Cute turned into infuriating. Seriously, _he _was questioning _me?_ Oh, hell no. "What were you doing anyway?" I know that I sounded like I actually gave a kneazle's ass about it, but I refuse to be on the receiving end of this interrogation.

"It's personal," Draco dodged the question.

"Really?" I drawled and crossed my arms, channeling my inner Alex. "Since when is something so personal that you can't tell _me_ about it?" Never. Well, at least we don't keep the important things from each other. You know, I've always felt a little bit guilty about keeping the Russos a secret from Draco, but now I feel pretty justified.

"Since things got bad," Draco snapped. "There's too much pressure! I can barely think straight! Some days everything's fine, and I feel as if I'm finally getting_ somewhere._ But then something goes wrong, and I feel as if I'm going mad!" He turned away from me to storm around the room, and at the end of the last sentence, he sank down to the ground with his face buried in his hands.

"When is that anything new?" I demanded harshly, "That isn't anything new, Draco. You're a Pureblood, and so am I. We get that kind of s*** all the time. It's your choice on how to deal with it!"

"Oh, let's not forget my father's in bloody Azkaban!" Draco ranted on bitterly. It was pitiful to see the most arrogant guy on the planet wallowing in his misery. It was almost painful to witness, and not just because I care too much about the guy.

"And where exactly is mine?" I snapped back. "He's not checking out the flowers in Central Park, that's for damn sure."

Draco cringed, as if suddenly remembering that I had never known my father because he's always been in Azkaban my whole life. Uncle Jerry was the closest I've ever had to a father figure, and Aunt Theresa's always been like a mother to me. I don't care _what_ the Grayfires think of my family. These people took care of me and raised me right.

I felt bad for that outburst, because thinking had made me feel guilty. I resented Caelum Grayfire, but it didn't matter to me anymore because of Uncle Jerry. Draco doesn't have that. He doesn't have someone in his family to comfort him the way I have my aunt and uncle. Draco adored his father. The guy looked up to Mr. Malfoy like he was a hero. A Death Eater, maybe, but he was still Draco's hero.

No matter how pissed I am at Draco, I can't be like this to him. I had told him that he could always talk to me, and I can't go shooting my problems back into his face. Nobody deserves to go through what he's going through. "I'm sorry," I said softly and sat down next to him, with my knees pulled up to my chest and my arms hugging them tightly to my body. I swear to Merlin that the boy was close to tears. "I was out of line. I'm just…" Take a good look everyone. This is me – Larkspur Ellis Russo – throwing my pride out the window. This is me – Larkspur Ellis Russo – feeling so incredibly bad for Draco Lucius Malfoy that I spill my damn guts in the freaking music room, "Ever since you broke up with me, I've been so upset that it still hurts to think about it. Seeing you with Pansy made me act up. I didn't want anything to do with you for spending your time with that _hag._ Then you give me that 'I-need-all-the-friends-I've-got' crap. Everything was going _great_ after that! I thought we were really getting things back on track, but something's still wrong. You're skipping classes and ignoring homework. Draco, that's not normal. I'm worried about you.

"Then you have to go and ask me to the Three Broomsticks. I didn't expect much out of it, but, God, you have no idea how confused I was. I thought that you were just trying to pull something, which you did, or if you meant it. And if you meant it, what would it have meant for _us_? April and Alex seem to think that you were planning on turning it into some sort of date. Honestly? I wish it was a date, because then, at least I'd have you back. I waited there for an hour, Draco, an effing _hour_." It was painful to say out loud. Actually, it hurt to say all of it out loud. I had only planned on telling him how much I missed him, and that I was still kind of reeling from the break up. I didn't intend to give him the whole damn story! But once I started, the words just kept coming. "I don't know what I expected, but I guess it was more than _that_."

"Larkspur," Draco said in a throaty voice. I looked over to him and found him watching me intently as if I was something wonderful. He started to lean forward, and I knew what he was going to do. Malfoy was going to kiss me, and I would have let him. I would have let him, and I would have loved it, and everything would've been just _fine._ But that's not the case.

I got up and walked back to the piano with my arms crossed in front of me. I could feel him watching me, but I can't bring myself to look at him. "I…Draco, I want to kiss you. God, you have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now."

"Then why the bloody hell not?" Draco asked, and I heard him get to his feet.

"Because it's _not _that easy," I stated. "Draco, I practically just confessed completely irrational love for you, and you haven't even said anything! You stood me up, and you haven't even given me a good reason to forgive you."

"What do you want me to say, Lark?" he sounded desperate. "Do you want me to tell you that I've been in love with you since we were twelve? Because I have. Ever since you bumped into me on the train." Sweet, but I've heard it all before. That didn't stop him from dumping me, and it didn't stop him from standing me up.

"Say what you need to say, Draco," I said as calmly as I could. I hate seeing him like this, but I can't just let it go. "I just…it's not that _easy _to kiss you and forgive everything. I'm sorry." Then I walked out on Draco thinking about how stupid I am. For what feels like the thousandth time in the last three and a half months, I thought, _What have I just done?_

_**A/N...Dramaaaaa! I rewrote this chapter over and over and over again both in my head an in typing! I know it's short, sorry about that, but I hope you like it!**_

_** I can't help but notice the lack of reviews...okay, I'mma be honest with you guys. I'm kinda self-conscious about my writing, and it means a lot to me when you let me know what you think whether it be constructive criticism or appreciation. Reviews inspire me to keep writing. So, if you want more I suggest you either vote or review...but I love this story so much xDDD**_

_**I'm so sorry if my reviews become even less frequent than they already are because school starts on Friday and I'm freaaaaking out! Another reason to let me know what you think, haha. So I can keep writing through the school year. **_

_** Ashlyn Malfoy...Thanks for the couple names! I suck at making those up myself xD**_

_** ElektraB...I know, right?! Draco's such a...blech! I don't know how Lark puts up with him. How'd you like this chapter? **_

_** Heddy...Okay, thank Merlin! Sorry about Ultimatum, but I'm experiencing writers block in my Greek mythology writing. I'll get back to it as soon as I can!**_


	7. Chapter 7

"Russo, get up. Come on! It's Quidditch today!" April attempted to wake me up. I groaned in protest and waved her off. I've never been a sports person anyway. I haven't told her about what happened the other night with Draco yet. God, I'm such an idiot. I shouldn't have walked out like that.

"Oh, just leave her there. We can't wait forever," Daphne Greengrass, one of our other roommates advised. She's alright. I mean, she's your typical pureblood snob, but she's not half-bad.

"You know how she is," Tracey Davis remarked from her bed. "It's impossible to wake that girl up if she doesn't want to be woken up." I have nothing against my roommates. Daphne, Tracey, and Millicent weren't half as bad as Pansy. They could be nice if they really, really worked at it.

"That's right, everyone, listen to Tracey. I'm not getting up," I said and burrowed further under my bed.

"What if we took her cat hostage?" April suggested.

The other girls scoffed, "Yeah, right. I bet that cat is part kneazle." I've wondered the same thing, but I know that Opal is one hundred percent cat. Not a magical creature. Although, it sometimes seems like she has more intelligence than the average cat.

"Let's try a different approach, shall we?" Daphne asked. I knew that they wouldn't just ditch me there.

"Russo," April said in a mock stern voice, "get out of bed or we'll make sure that you don't get breakfast."

I shot up like a bullet and glared at the girls, knowing that I look like crap, "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," April countered. I sighed, because as sweet as April can be, she's merciless. I stretched and threw off the covers.

"This is a cruel and unusual punishment," I grumbled and yawned while looking through my trunk for a decent pair of clothes to wear to the match. "I should take this to friggin' wizard court. Just take the freakin' cat."

April rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just get dressed already. I don't want to be late."

"April, you're Chaser. You can't be late," I pointed out. I finally found some clothes to wear that would keep me warm; apparently, nobody ever thought of an _indoor_ Quidditch field. I'd love to skip out on Quidditch, I really would, but I have to give April my support. "What time is it anyway?" I asked curiously.

"Six," Daphne answered distastefully.

I glared at them all together, "You woke me up at six in the morning?! The match isn't even until, like, ten!"

"Early bird catches the snitch," April sang.

"You're not even the Seeker!" I argued. She just rolled her eyes and shooed me away.

I walked into the bathroom to change into stylish jeans borrowed from Alex, two tank tops, a black long-sleeve V-neck, and dark green jacket. I walked back to the dorm room, but everyone was gone. Except for April, who was sitting on the bed. "Why'd you stay behind?" I asked casually as I put my laundry into my laundry basket. Don't ask me what happens to it; I just know that it comes back clean every Wednesday.

"You look terrible," April stated bluntly.

"Gee, I love you too," I said sarcastically and busied myself with Opal to avoid looking directly at my best friend.

She ignored my comment, "Even worse than you usually do in the mornings."

"Did you just hang back to make fun of me?" I demanded half-heartedly. Uh-oh. April knows that something wrong's going on. I was kind of hoping that I could avoid telling her about last night. I mean, I was already ticked off enough at him as it was before that whole scene in the music room.

Once again, April ignored my interruption, "I'm sorry, but it's true." She sat down next to me on the bed. Opal had escaped me, and I was now toying with my wand. April had this concerned sisterly look to her eyes, "What's wrong?"

There are only a handful of people I feel bad lying to and keeping secrets from – April, Draco, Alex, Justin, Uncle Jerry, Aunt Theresa, and Max. Not necessarily in that order. With the exception of Max, because he's too _Max _to notice anything, these are the people who can tell when something's wrong just by looking at me. It's sweet, but I don't always appreciate it. "Do you really have to ask?"

"What'd he do?" April's voice was hard and carried underlying anger.

"It wasn't completely his fault this time," I admitted. Hey, I have enough sense to know that I'm the one who ruined things last night. "It wouldn't have even happened if he hadn't….ugh!" I'm so ticked that I can't even finish a sentence! How bunk is that?

"What happened?" April asked gently.

"I snuck out last night after the party to do some writing," I explained, "and Draco was waiting at my usual place for me. I don't…I guess he was trying to apologize. He's been trying to do that all week, you know. Anyway, I don't know. There was a lot of yelling about being under pressure and his dad being in Azkaban. He's not the only one who has to go through that stuff, though. I felt bad for pointing that out. He was pretty out of it, A. It was as if he was another person entirely." I couldn't just tell my best friend that Draco Malfoy had practically been crying last night. I'm not the best person in the world, but I'm soo not gonna ruin the guy's rep by making him out to be a cry baby.

"I figured he'd corner you eventually. He's tried to talk to you himself all week, but you didn't give him the time of day. He even tried to get _me _to talk to you on his behalf. I told him he was going bonkers."

"Yeah, well, I felt bad. Really, _really_, bad. I told him everything. God, April, I pretty much told him that I love him. I know, it's crazy. I told him everything from the breakup up to that moment," I informed my friend. Do I regret anything that I said last night? Absolutely. Actually, I regret the majority of that whole conversation.

"And?" April prompted.

"He tried to kiss me," I admitted.

April's eyes widened, but I know that she wasn't all that surprised that he had tried. I think she's surprised that I hadn't let him. "What the hell do you mean, he tried?"

"He was going to, but…I got up."

"Have you officially lost it, Russo?" April demanded and stood up to give me that _look. _The whole arms crossed, tapping foot, questioning look sent down at me. "Isn't that what you've wanted for…well, ever since the school year started?"

"Yes," I groaned because I've already come to this realization. "You know that. I'm pretty sure that almost everyone knows that! Yes, April, I've wanted to kiss Draco Malfoy ever since I walked onto that platform in September."

"Then why didn't you?!" she all but screeched.

"Because it wouldn't have been right!" I exclaimed back with equal fervor, "I'm not going to kiss him before I forgive him for everything he's done."

"Lark," April said in a calmer more comforting voice. It's kind of scary how her mood can change so quickly, "I'm not too friendly with Draco lately, but he's not that bad. I mean, I'm upset with him and all for everything he's done to you, but… I remember seeing you two together as a couple. I've never seen you happier. Not even when we pull pranks on the Gryffindors. Everytime he does something to you, you know I'll be there for you. But I know that you'll forgive him eventually."

"Not this time," I said dismally.

"Yes, you will," April said surely. "Maybe not soon, but you will. I know you will. It probably makes me sound like a bad friend, but I'm probably going to forgive him before you do."

It's weird when your best friend says that she's going to forgive your boyfriend for all the crap he put you through before you do. She has it in her head that Draco and I are meant for each other, and she's right about me when we were together. I was _happy_. I was _very _happy. I don't know. Maybe I'll forgive him, but maybe I won't. Who knows? I definitely don't.

"I don't know, A," I said doubtfully.

"Okay, you know what?" April said in a reassuring, cheerful voice, "You don't have to watch Quidditch today. You can go off, and think about this. Take a day off from school and music, and just _think_." _Easier said than done_, I thought, but I didn't say this out loud. The girl's giving me a get out free card, and I'm takin' it.

Impulsively, I got up and hugged her, "April, you are too good to me! I'm so glad that you're my best friend."

She hesitated for a second because I don't usually hug her. We don't 'hug' in the Russo household, so it's not really my thing. "Yeah, I know. I'm amazing, now get off me before you wrinkle my uniform!" she said playfully. I laughed and let her go. "Okay, Russo, let's go get some food."

"Thank Merlin!" I exclaimed impatiently.

_**A/N...I know, my chapters are getting shorter and shorter -.- this was more of a filler chapter. I felt bad for not including the cat xD **_

_**Okay, if Lark were a character in the movies and TV show, do you think Lucy Hale should portray her? Let me know who comes to mind when you picture Lark! **_

_**Oh, if any of you go on youtube, check out my friend Bella Navarro who has an amazing cover of "I Would Do Anything For You" by Foster the People. **_

_**Thanks you guys...and (whispers) review. ;)**_


	8. Chapter 8

The Hall was lively today. I blame Quidditch. Everyone gets so riled up about it, but I don't see what the big deal is. I swear, you'd think that it was the Super Bowl or something. Anyway, I almost got hit in the head by two students throwing around a quaffle. I glared and gave them New York's favorite finger.

As I past Draco at the table, I felt kind of bad. He was sitting alone; well, not _alone _alone. I mean, we all sit at one big table, but he was sitting away from everyone else. I avoided eye contact at all times. I think that the people having the worst time today are Ron and Draco.

Poor Ron looked like he was about to throw up all over his Quidditch team sweater. It didn't help that people were shouting things at him while he walked in. The guy was nervous enough as it is; he didn't need the rest of the school to be making it worse. I have nothing against Ron or the rest of his family. In fact, I always loved prank wars with the Weasley twins. Until that cat-lady freak scared them away last year. Ginny's cool, too, I hang out with her sometimes, but we aren't that close. The only problem I have with them is the fact that they hang out with Granger.

Draco just seemed miserable. No other way to put it. I'm kind of scared that the boy's going into depression or something. He looked tired and upset. I couldn't help but feel maybe a little bit responsible. It was such a sad sight that I almost lost my appetite…almost, and the French toast here is soooo good.

I couldn't take the sorry sight of a lonely Malfoy, so I decided to turn my focus to the second most miserable looking person in the room. Ron. He was sitting with Harry and the mudblood as usual, but I sit too far away to actually hear what they're saying. I elbowed April in the side when Lavender Brown flounced up to him.

"I'd rather have the mudblood," she stated and shuddered. "Merlin's pants! What _is _that monstrosity on Lovegood's head?" Loony Lovegood had taken a seat at the Gryffindor table next to Ron, and she was wearing a big, fluffy, golden mane. My eyes widened and I snickered.

"Wow," is all I could muster through my growing laughter. Even _Harper_ wouldn't wear that thing in public. And that's saying a lot. Speaking of Harper… "Hey, I get to bail on Quidditch, right?" I asked April just to be sure.

"Yes, Lark, you may wander the halls today for whatever reason, but I expect to see you after the game," April replied. I know exactly what I'm going to do with my free day. I'm going to go up to the music room and not worry because everyone's going to be at the Quidditch game today, including the professors. I'm going to call Alex, Justin, and maybe Max to ask how they're doing just so that I can get my mind off my own life.

"Well, I'm gonna get the heck out of here now before you guys start getting the Quidditch spirit going," I said and rose from the bench. "Good luck! Go Slytherin, and all that!" I waved and practically ran out of the hall. I retrieved my notebook and mp3 before heading to the music room. What? Did you think that I wouldn't use my muggle stuff while I'm in the school?

I snuck into the room and sat on the floor away from the spot where Draco had almost kissed me last night. The first thing I did was call Alex's wand. I need a cousin's opinion on this; a cousin who doesn't care that the boy's father is an international wizarding criminal. It must've been, like, one in the morning or something like that when I called. I really do hate that time difference business.

She didn't answer and my call went straight to voice mail. I can be persistent when I want to be….I don't usually want to be, but this is one of those weird times when I want something badly. I really need to talk to Alex, so I dialed her number again.

"It is freakin' one in the damn morning," she hissed, "go away."

"Alex," I said quickly before she could hang up, "it's me. I need to talk to you."

"Lark? How many times have I told you not to wake me up before I get my seventeen hours?" she demanded.

"Never," I replied.

"Well, don't wake me up before I get my seventeen hours," she snapped. Then she hung up on me. I sighed and put my wand back into my pocket. There's no point in trying to get Alex to wake up now. I'll just have to call her later on. I bet that the school's going to be empty all day due to the Quidditch game.

I hung around in the music room for another hour, doing nothing except listening to Tears of Blood. Then I went back down to the dungeons and found my cat wandering the common room. The cat's barely around when I'm looking for her! I scooped her up and she hissed in protest, "Oh, shut up. I've barely seen you all year. What could you possibly be doing?" This is great, just great. I'm talking to my cat. "You aren't sneaking up to that room with Draco, are you?"

My thoughts wandered to the mysterious room Draco keeps sneaking up to. What in the name of all things magic could that boy be doing up there? I admit, Hogwarts isn't the place to be for kids like me or Alex or Max, but it's definitely a preppy boy's playground. Draco can't be getting _that_ much hell from his mother about school. I mean, from what I can tell, Mrs. Malfoy babies her little boy.

My Russo guardians never stressed the importance of my wizarding education. They always favored WizTech and homeschooling in magic over Hogwarts. Well, for a time, I was right there alongside them. But in the Ministry and Wizard Council in the States, the Grayfire name has more power than the Russo name. Well, I got some revenge on my paternal family…I charge my wand bill to the Grayfire account at Gringotts.

Anyway, dear old Grandmother and Grandfather are the ones who pay the most attention to my grades. One day, they're gonna realize that I really don't give a damn. I do what's necessary so that I can get a job other than waiting tables, but that's as much effort as they're getting out of me. I'm not in it to be the best; I'm in school to pass and get the hell out of there when I graduate.

I suddenly felt homesick. It happens a lot over the years, especially when I'm thinking. I miss Alex conning people out of their money. I miss Justin rattling off facts that nobody cares about. I miss Uncle Jerry giving us the lecture about not using magic unsupervised while none of us actually listened except Justin. I miss Aunt Theresa complaining about me, Max, and Justin always breaking her lamp with the football. I miss Max barging into my room unannounced to show me something cool which turns out to be a dead cockroach he found in his room.

I pulled out my wand again at noon and called Justin in the music room. I'm sure that everyone knows by now that I spend most of my time in the music room when I want to conduct private business. Unlike Alex, Justin actually wakes up early in the morning. I'm telling you…if he had attended Hogwarts, he would be a Ravenclaw. I bet that he could be smarter than Granger if he applied himself.

"Yello," I hate how he answers the wand like that.

"Hey, cousin, what's up?" I greeted.

"Lark! Hey. Oh, just…ahead of Max and Alex in the competition," he sounded proud of himself.

"That's great, Justin!" I said supportively. I've always thought that the most of the competition would be between Justin and Lex.

"And I'm going to find my lost love, Juliet," Justin continued. Wait, what? Last I heard, Justin was a single nerd with no hope of ever finding a girlfriend. And when did she become a 'lost love'?

"Who's Juliet?" I asked.

"My vampire girlfriend," Justin clarified as if it was no big deal. "Didn't Alex tell you? I finally found someone who's perfect for me, and my siblings had to go and ruin it for me!"

"Wait, hold on. One step at a time, man. I'm still trying to get the whole _vampire girlfriend_ thing through my head." A vampire. Wow. Why can't my cousin get himself a good normal wizard girlfriend? She doesn't even have to be a wizard! I'd be happier if he dated a muggle.

"I know how it sounds," Justin said quickly, "but she's so pretty and nice that half the time I forgot that she's a vampire."

I sighed, "Okay, just…carry on." I might as well save my derogatory comments until after he tells me how it all went wrong.

Justin went on to explain everything that I had missed since the last week of August in excruciating detail. This is all I got out of the whole lecture – he met this girl who turns out to be a vampire, Juliet invited him to go camping, they professed their love to each other, Justin made a fool of himself onstage, Alex had an anti-prom, zombies were involved, Max separates himself from his conscience, Max unleashes a bunch of monsters on New York, Alex saves the day, Justin reports said girlfriend to the monster hunters, Alex saves the day, Justin chases after a mummy and gets himself trapped in the museum, and he lost Juliet to the mummy. Oh, and we have an aunt. Apparently Uncle Jerry has a sister.

"Well, what do you think?" Justin asked when he finally finished. "Lark, ya there? Hello?" I was still stunned in silence with the things I had missed.

"I think that Uncle Jerry needs to get us a therapist," I stated truthfully. "For Merlin's sake, Justin, a vampire? First the Goth, then the centaur, then the werewolf, and now the vampire. What's next? You know what, don't answer that."

"The centaur looked…" Justin started defensively, and I joined in to complete the sentence, "Very nice in her prom dress." I rolled my eyes; we've all heard the story.

I sighed because no matter how bad my cousin's taste in girls can be, he's still family, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he sounded close to tears.

"It's okay, Justin," I said comfortingly. He could be a little…sensitive. "You'll find her."

"How 'bout you? How's Europe?" Justin asked to change the subject.

"Boring and cold. It's freezing and they don't understand the term central heating," I replied. I looked around the room and played around with my phone. "Justin, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything, Lark," Justin assured me.

"The vampire girl, Juliet. Do you love her? I mean really, really love her?" There was a short pause from Justin; he probably wasn't expecting that question.

"Yeah. I do," Justin stated. I don't have the dating experience that Justin and Alex have. I've only ever really liked one guy. I could hear it in his voice that Justin really meant it. He's in love with this girl.

"What would you do for her?" I asked him, thinking about what I would do for Draco. "Isn't that what it comes down to? What you would do for someone you love?"

"I'd do anything for her," Justin said without any hesitation. "I _will _do anything to get her back, Lark. Why're you asking?"

"You remember that guy I was dating last year?" I asked him.

"How can I forget? The jerk, right? The one who's dad's in jail, and Dad doesn't want you talking to him," Justin reminded me.

"He's in almost every class I have, Justin, and we live in the same House, and we share a common room, and…" I could have gone on, but Justin interrupted me.

"Ah, ah, ah, gah," he protested, "I get it….so, are you two…?"

"No," I said before he could even ask. "Draco and I aren't together again. I mean, we could be. It's my fault, really. I should've just gone ahead and kissed him, but you know what went wrong?" I could hear him make a sound, but I continued anyway, "I'll tell you what went wrong."

"Of course you will," Justin stated exasperatedly.

I spoke over him, "I was thinking too much. That's what happened. He was talking and explaining, and he was _honestly _sorry. I should've just kissed him and got it over with, but it's not supposed to be that easy, right? I mean, if _your _girlfriend completely stopped communicating with you for the whole summer, and then acted like a b****, and then stood you up, wouldn't you be pissed?"

"Well…"

"I'm just saying, it's not _my _fault that…"

"LARKSPUR!" Justin interrupted my ranting, "Just…breathe. Inhale and exhale." I did as he advised and took a couple deep breaths.

"Okay, now what?" I asked my cousin.

"Try talking to him. I'm sure that you can let him down easy," Justin said as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

"Did you miss my whole speech?" I asked incredulously, "Dude, I don't know if I _want _to let him down at all!"

"Lark, think about it. The guy's a jerk whose dad is a psycho. You do the math," Justin said.

"But _he's _not a bad guy, Justin. He's done some stuff, sure, but who hasn't? Just last year I got a detention for setting off fireworks in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. _And _I replaced all of Ms. Umbridge's cats with dogs and cast a spell on the room so it would look as if Miranda moved in there." For anyone who doesn't know Justin's ex-girlfriend Miranda, then I'll explain. Let's just say she enjoyed the color black. "Does that mean that I shouldn't get a decent boyfriend?"

"That's not what I mean," Justin sighed.

"Draco's better off than I am. He's a star student, and he's on the Quidditch team. I'm not that good at school, and I don't do anything for the school." It's true. Take away our families, friends, and magic. You have a guy who can be a jerk but actually makes something of himself, and a girl who messes around and goofs up at everything.

"His dad is a Death Eater, Lark, those guys are scary. You don't want to get mixed up in a family like that," Justin's right, but he's forgetting one big thing…

"My family's like that," I reminded him bitterly. "My dad's a Death Eater. Hey, they're probably cell mates. I bet they could have a big ol' prison party. Dad, Malfoy, the inmates, and Dementors. It'd be a blast."

"That's different," Justin argued.

"How?" I demanded.

"He was _raised _by a Death Eater. You were raised by people who are only slightly crazy," Justin explained.

I laughed, comparing the Malfoys to the Russos in my head. He has a point there. "I don't know, Justin. I don't know what to do next."

Justin sighed heavily, "I don't like the guy, but…if you love him, then I'll try to accept him."

"Thanks, Justin," I said appreciatively, "but I still don't know what to do."

"Well, I'll help you," Justin said. "What are the bad things about him?"

"Are you working?" I asked instead of answering immediately.

"No, why?" Justin asked confusedly.

"'Cause this is gonna take a while," I replied. "He's arrogant, selfish, annoying, full of himself, and always trying to impress everyone. He gets jealous so easily, can't hold his own in a fight without a wand, has trust issues, and a superiority complex. He's such a kiss up and drama queen. I don't think I need to remind you about him dumping me last year. There's the whole thing that happened over the summer. He flirts with Pissy Parkinson. Oh, he has that weird obsession with Harry Potter. How weird is that? And he keeps sneaking out of the dorm at night to go into that weird disappearing room."

"Ya done yet?" Justin asked.

I thought it over, "Mhmm. I think that's it. Oh, and he has trouble sharing. Okay, now I'm done."

"Yeah, that's a long list," Justin remarked. "Anyway, what are the good things about him?"

I sighed, "Draco can be….sweet, protective, smart, and funny. He smells like peppermint and pine, sort of like Christmas. He was never boring to be with. He's really good at dueling and riding a broom. I remember this one time in fourth year, he took me out by the Lake and we just talked and laughed and skipped stones. We were sitting on the rocks, and the light was hitting him just right. It looked like he was radiating light, and Draco was actually smiling. He was always there when I needed him. He was the person I'd go to when something bad happened at my grandparents or when I fought with April. He never told me I _can't. _I guess that's what I liked most about him. Draco never doubted me. He always said that there's nothing I couldn't do. Not even when I was causing trouble. Draco doesn't enjoy getting in trouble, but he always supported me when I pulled pranks. He was always trying to impress me, and no matter how stupid it was, it always worked." I smiled to myself just thinking about the good times, "In fourth year, I met him in the common room after curfew. We just sat there in front of the fire and talked. We didn't mention the tournament or Harry or our families. We just talked about us. What we want to do at Hogwarts, what we want to do after Hogwarts, who we want to be."

"I can hear you smiling," Justin said with brotherly amusement.

"So what?" I retorted, still with a small smile.

"So you really might love this guy, Lark," Justin said. He didn't sound disapproving. He's just looking out for me.

"I know that."

"Talk to him," Justin advised. "Sort things out. You'll do what's right in the end."

I nodded as my mind processed everything, "Yeah, I hope you're right. Thanks, Justin."

"No problem, Lark, I'm here whenever you need me," Justin promised.

"You'll find her, Justin. I know you will, and when you do, I'd love to meet her."

"Thanks, Lark," Justin said before hanging up. I exhaled loudly and looked down at my wand thoughtfully. _Draco, why do you have to make this so complicated?_ I wondered.

_**A/N...Okay, I know that there are more than three of you out there. The traffic graph knows all, so would the rest of you please review? I MUST KNOW WHAT Y'ALL THINK! To Ashlyn, Elektra, and Heddy, thanks for all your support. :) **_


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